Washington, DC – The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the nation’s leading Hispanic leadership development and educational services organization, today announced the full agenda for its 2016 Public Policy Conference on September 13-14, 2016, part of its 39th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) celebration in Washington, D.C.  With the theme Educate.Engage.Vote, CHCI’s conference will focus on the important role Latinos will play in this year’s upcoming elections, while hosting important policy sessions on issues from health care and education, to energy and technology.

“The year 2016 represents an amazing opportunity for the Latino community to make its voice heard and wield an incredible amount of influence on the future direction of America,” said Rep. Linda T. Sánchez, CHCI Chair.  “That’s why this year’s conference theme and events will focus on how American Latinos are engaging in the political process and ensuring they are represented at the highest levels when decisions are made that affect our community.  When we translate our growth in numbers into political, cultural and economic influence, America wins.”

CHCI’s 2016 Public Policy Conference will host the most policy sessions in its history, with 22 sessions devoted to providing best practices and the latest information on issues that directly impact Latinos. Topics covered at this year’s conference include:

Civic Engagement:  Vision 2020 – Latino Clout, the Census, and Millennials Coming of Age

Criminal Justice Reform: Why Latinxs Need to Coalesce Behind Real Change

Commerce: Understanding the Hispanic Consumer

Economy: Promoting Financial Literacy and Economic Empowerment for Latinos

Education:  Ensuring All Kids Count – What the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Means for Latinos   

Energy - Renewables/Green/Solar/Wind

Energy - Traditional

Environment: Healthy Parks, Healthy Latinos

Health: Creating a Pipeline to Health Care Professions

Health: Fulfilling the Promise of the Affordable Care Act for Latinas

Higher Education

Homeland Security: Community Readiness Strategies for the Latino Community

Housing: Is Homeownership for Latinos a Fleeting American Dream?

Immigration: Anti-Immigrant rhetoric and Latino Health Access

Income and Education Equality: The Skills Gap and How Latinos Fare

Labor Issues

Latino Vote: Engaging Our Community, Making Our Voices Heard

Media: The Unchanging Landscape for Latinos in Entertainment

Media: Profound Changes in Media Impact and How Latinos Get News and Information

Taxes: Strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit to Benefit Latino Families

Technology: Latinos in Silicon Valley – What Are Companies Doing Right Now and How Can We Help?

Technology: How Employee Resource Groups Can Create a More Inclusive Landscape at Tech Companies

For more information on each session, please visit http://hhm.chci.org/2016-agenda/.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 - October 15.  For CHCI, it also represents an opportunity to feature its highly competitive and nationally acclaimed Latino youth leadership development programs, including two fellowship programs, a congressional internship program, scholarship-intern programs, and college readiness programs, Ready to Lead (R2L^®) and R2L^® NextGen, for high school students.

About CHCI

CHCI is the premier Hispanic nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) leadership development organization in the country that educates, empowers, and connects Latino youth by providing leadership development programs and educational services. CHCI directly impacts the lives of more than 1,600 students and young professionals each year through its fellowships,  congressional internships, scholar-intern programs, Ready to Lead (R2L^®) college readiness program, and R2L NextGen program. CHCI NextOpp is its latest resource allowing young Latinos to save, search and share life-changing opportunities for Latinos across the United States.

The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic members of Congress, nonprofit, union and corporate leaders. Visit www.chci.org, or join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.