MAOF to Host 33rd Annual National Hispanic Women's Conference

PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will receive special recognition

LOS ANGELES, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), one of the largest Latino nonprofit organizations in the United States, will host the thirty-third annual National Hispanic Women's Conference (NHWC), its premier networking and professional development event for young Latinas, at the Pasadena Convention Center on May 22, 2009. The conference will feature an award ceremony for Latinas who have excelled in various professional fields, including an inaugural award for U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
The NHWC, the nation's longest-running conference on Latina empowerment, began thirty-three years ago to ensure Latinas had access to job opportunities in corporate America. What started with 50 participants has grown to a yearly audience of over 2,000 Latinas.
The conference's Women of the Year Awards Luncheon will honor Latinas who have excelled in their chosen industry and have made a mark on society as a whole. This year, MAOF will honor five exemplary Latinas: Julie Stav, financial expert and host of Tu Dinero con Julie Stav; Chef Lala, celebrity chef, nutritionist and author; Lora J. Villarreal, EVP & Chief People Officer at ACS; Milka Duno, professional race car driver; and, Concepcion Rueda Gomez, Mexican Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples. In addition, MAOF is proud to present the first-ever American Latina Spirit Award to U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the highest-ranking Latina in the U.S. government, for two decades of courageous leadership and historic accomplishments in public service.
Award-winning Journalist Elizabeth Espinosa will serve as mistress of ceremony during the awards luncheon. Immediately following the awards luncheon, MAOF will present a runway fashion show sponsored by Macy's.

About MAOF
The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), a 501 (c) (3) charity, was founded in 1963 to empower the Mexican American community. MAOF has become the nation's third largest Latino nonprofit organization by providing no-cost, high quality human services to those communities where the need is the greatest. MAOF operates in seven counties throughout California, and is headquartered in Montebello, Calif. For more information about MAOF, visit www.maof.org.

SOURCE Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
-0- 05/15/2009
/CONTACT: Frank Molina, MAOF Public Relations, +1-626-755-6159,
frank@valenciacompany.com /
/Web site: http://www.maof.org /