Washington, DC - The Smithsonian Latino Center announces the addition of new board members Margarita “Maggie” Paláu Hernández, Esq. and Camelia Garrido, Esq. to the Smithsonian National Latino Board. The board is composed of philanthropists, corporate leaders and individuals who bring experience, geographical balance, diverse backgrounds and cultural expertise to the Smithsonian Latino Center. Paláu Hernández and Garrido will join board members in advising Eduardo Díaz, the director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, on programming, outreach, advocacy and fundraising for the center. Each will serve initial three-year terms.

Margarita Paláu Hernández, Esq.

Paláu Hernández is founder and principal of Hernández Ventures, a privately held enterprise involved in Spanish Media, real estate developments, and a variety of business ventures. She also serves on the board of ALJ Regional Holdings, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company engaged in diversified consumer product companies.

Paláu Hernández is co-chair of the Yale School of Management Council of Global Advisors and board member of the Yale School of Management Board of Advisors. She also serves on the UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors and the UCLA Law Centennial Campaign Cabinet.  She is a founding board member of the UCLA Law Women L.E.A.D. Organization and co-chair of its summit.  She was also chair of the 2010 UCLA Law National Reunion Campaign. Paláu Hernández previously served as a member of the University of San Diego Board of Trustees. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego and her law degree from UCLA School of Law.

Born, raised, and educated in Mexico, Paláu Hernández is married to Roland Hernández, Chairman of Belmond Ltd., an international luxury hotel group based in London. Mr. Hernández was formerly chairman and CEO of Telemundo. She and her husband Roland have three children, Scott, Charlie and Katie, and divide their time between Pasadena, California, New York City and London.

Camelia M. Garrido, Esq.

Garrido is an attorney at the Law Offices of Andrés W. López, P.S.C., a law firm in San Juan, Puerto Rico focusing on complex federal litigation. Prior to joining the law firm, Garrido served as a federal law clerk to three different United States District Court judges, as well as two United States Magistrate Judges, all in Puerto Rico.

Garrido is also an accomplished soprano, and earned a Bachelor of Music from Boston University. She also received a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University, and a Masters in Education from Harvard University. She has been involved in multiple pro bono activities in the arts and entertainment sphere, ranging from her service as a member of the Board of Directors of the San Juan Children’s Choir (where she sang herself from a young age) to singing with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the San Juan Choral Philharmonic, and the Orfeón San Juan Bautista Choir.

Garrido lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with her husband and their three children. Her husband, Andrés W. López, served as the co-director of Obama's 2008 campaign in Puerto Rico and is an at-large delegate to the Democratic National Committee. He was a member of the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino and is an appointed trustee at the Kennedy Center.

About the Smithsonian Latino Center

The Smithsonian Latino Center ensures that Latino contributions to arts, sciences and humanities are highlighted and advanced through the development of public programs, research, museum collections and educational opportunities at the Smithsonian and its affiliated organizations across the U.S. For more information, visit www.latino.si.edu.