MIAMI, March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Latino Startup Alliance, BlackTech Week and Hispanicize Media Group announced today that they will unite efforts to launch the first annual Diversity Tech Summit at Hispanicize 2016.
Presented by Prudential Financial, the 7th annual Hispanicize 2016, the nation’s premier gathering of Latino digital content creators, marketers, journalists, musicians, filmmakers and tech entrepreneurs, is taking place April 4-8, 2016 at Miami’s InterContinental Hotel. The Diversity Tech Summit of Hispanicize will take place on Thursday, April 7th and Friday, April 8th.
Produced with the generous support of Facebook, the Diversity Tech Summit will feature town halls, fireside panels and chats with accomplished multicultural tech entrepreneurs, investors and other key protagonists that are at the forefront of breaking down the walls that have traditionally hindered diverse entrepreneurs from breaking into Silicon Valley.
“Hispanicize will use its tremendous national media and social media muscles as a force for good to bring real national attention and accountability to Silicon Valley and to be a major platform of discovery for multicultural entrepreneurs and the investors that want to work with them,” said Manny Ruiz, Hispanicize founder and himself a serial tech entrepreneur. “Today’s announcement represents true power and unity and that’s why this unique showcase will feature the investor, entrepreneur and non profit protagonists who are not just talking the talk but walking the walk.”
Said Latino Startup Alliance co-founder Jesse Martinez: “The Black and Brown communities are stronger because of this alliance and the real hope now is that together we’re going to bridge that unfortunate gap that historically leaves out diverse communities and especially women of color.”
"Hispanicize truly embodies excellence through impactful programming and amazing talent display. BlackTech Week is proud and honored to partner with this year's conference to get as many people from our communities engaged and unlocking opportunities in the tech space," said Felecia Hatcher Co-Founder of BlackTech Week.
Diversity Tech Summit Highlights/Speakers/Schedule
In addition to Martinez and Hatcher, the inaugural Diversity Tech Summit features: Ozzie Areu, President of Tyler Perry Studios, Noel Lee, Founder/CEO of Monster Products; Nic Perkin, Chairman and the CEO/Investor/Board Member, Perkin Industries, LLC/Hispanicize Media Group; Felecia Hatcher-Pearson, Co-founder, BlackTech Week; Derick Pearson, Co-Founder BlackTech Week and Code Fever Miami; Thomas Savino, CEO, Prospanica (formerly NSHMBA); Noramay Cadena, Co-founder and General Partner, Make in LA; Jason Inasi, Founder & CEO, Raydr; Lexi Terrero, Chief Financial Officer of Hispanicize Media Group; Joshua Hancik CTO/Partner, The Factory Interactive; Jesse Martinez, Founder of the Latino Startup Alliance; Marshall Watt, Co-founder, Coinsetter; Remy Arteaga, Executive Director, Latino Business Action Network; Manny Fernandez, Co-Founder and CEO, Dreamfunded.com; Andrew Quarrie, Founder of Jurnid; Alfred Edmond, Jr., Senior Vice President/Editor-at-Large, BLACK ENTERPRISE; Juan Garcia, Editor in Chief, Digital Trends Español; Josie Goytisolo, Founder & CEO, Codella; Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, General Manager of Cambridge Innovation Center Miami; Alicia Rascón and Laura Donnelly, Co-Founders, Latinitas; Nagidmy Marquez, Contributing Editor for Digital Trends Español; Ariel Lopez, Founder/CEO of 2020; Ramona Ortega, Founder/CEO, My Money My Future; Gaby Natale, Host and Executive Producer of SuperLatina and President of Aganar Media; Tania Gilinski, Founder/CEO of Juana La Iguana; Jose Salcedo, Founder/CEO of Outobus; and Teresita Chavez Pedrosa, General Counsel, Eventcrowd, among others.
Thursday, April 7th sessions:
-- Fireside Chat: Natalia Martinez-Kalinina of the Cambridge Innovation Center
-- Looking for Capital? Crowdfunding Your Latino Startup, the Startup Jobs Act & Title Three
-- The Legal Side to Getting Funded
-- The Latino Perfect Pitch Competition Finals (presented with Wells Fargo)
-- Women of Color in Tech: The Emerging Unicorns
Friday, April 8th sessions:
-- Fireside Chat: Getting to Know the Latino Startup Alliance
-- Teardown Smackdown!
-- The Investor’s Perspective: Building a Fundable, Scalable Start-Up
-- Addressing the Diversity Gap of Silicon Valley Town Hall
-- Keynote with Noel Lee, founder of Monster Products
-- Latinovator Award lunch sitdown with Ozzie Areu, President of Tyler Perry Studios
-- Lightning Talks: Tech Entrepreneurs Edition
-- Anatomy of a Deal: How Makers Row Came Together with Comcast Ventures
-- Give Me Equity and I'll Give You Cash
The summit will additionally feature a Latina girl entrepreneur training program with more than 20 middle school kids that are part of CODeLLA, an 8-week Tech Entrepreneurship + Coding Immersion course for under-represented Latina girls from the ages 9-12 that provides a safe, girls–only environment built for learning and exploring the fundamentals of Computer Science, Digital Literacy, and Interpersonal Development. The main goal of CODeLLA is to empower the next generation of Latinas by building an invaluable skillset and giving them the confidence to pursue careers in STEM.
About Hispanicize 2016
Hispanicize 2016 Week features a record-breaking 220+ speakers in 100+ sessions, workshops, fireside chats and keynotes. Hispanicize 2016 also features the first annual DiMe Summit, the 3rd annual Positive Impact Awards gala, the 2nd annual Tecla Awards and the 1st annual Diversity Tech Showcase.
The final schedule can be accessed at http://hispanicizeevent.com/schedule/ or via the smartphone apps of iTunes, Android. To purchase a pass to attend the event REGISTER HERE. To reserve a hotel room visit http://bit.ly/20wa0iM. See the official preview video of Hispanicize 2016 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys3_h5m8V6s.
In the spirit of its theme #PowerInUnity, this year’s event is being produced in collaboration with Geoscape, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Latino Startup Alliance and BlackTech Week.
Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available
Sponsorship information are still available by contacting sponsorship@hispanicizeevent.com or calling 203.364.4779.
In addition to Prudential Financial, as of today, announced sponsors also include: Amazon, Cricket Wireless, Google, Best Western, Unilever, Carnival Corporation, Facebook, Toyota, Que Rica Vida, Coca-Cola, Verizon Wireless, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Home Depot, Monster Products, Walt Disney Pictures, ViveMejor, JCPenney, Wells Fargo, State Farm, JetBlue Airways, KOA, Hennessy VSOP, Stitch Fix, Riboli Family Wine Estates, Nestle’s La Lechera, Dominican Republic Tourism, MSNBC, NBC News, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, Comcast, Savings.com, Pinterest, USA Network, Microsoft Corporation, The Miami Herald Media Company, CNN en Español, Discovery U.S. Hispanic Networks, Diario Las Americas, Fox News Latino, Kelley Blue Book, Visit Philly, Burson Latino, StudioB, Alma, República, Synergy Workspaces, Miami Dade College's School of Entertainment & Design Technology, Sensis, BTL Network, IZEA, Paco Collective, BodenPR, Newlink Americas, Pinta, American Heart Association, the Calvert Foundation, Juan La Iguana, Raydr, the Jackson Health Foundation, the Art Experience and Bright Box.
Additional media partners include: The Latino Startup Alliance, BlackTech Week, Voto Latino, Geoscape, Hispanicize Wire, PRODU, El Sentinel, Puerto Rico BloggerCon, Hispanic PR Blog, the Hispanic Public Relations Association, Black Enterprise, Media Moves, iBlog Magazine, SAG-AFTRA, Digital Trends en Español, Social Media Week Miami, HipLatina.com and Creative Juice Online.
About Hispanicize 2016
Now in its seventh year, Hispanicize 2016 Week (www.HispanicizeEvent.com) (#Hispz16) is the iconic, largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in digital content creation, journalism, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship.
Hispanicize 2016 is expected to gather more than 3,000 of the nation’s most influential Latino professionals from the industries of digital content creation, journalism, music, marketing, film and business over five days. The event will take place in downtown Miami’s InterContinental hotel, April 4-8, 2016.
The Hispanicize event is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books and more targeting Latinos in the U.S. and/or Puerto Rico.
The Hispanicize event can be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hispanicize, Instagram (@HispanicizeEvent), Twitter and Periscope (@Hispanicize).