Latino Spirit Awards

JENNA C. CONTRERAS
Achievement in Journalism & Media

Jenna Contreras is an award-winning filmmaker who believes storytelling is more than just capturing an audience. Ms. Contreras strives to create engaging, meaningful content that adds value to our society.  Using the platform of ESPN and its multiple outlets, she has illuminated important issues that traditional media often overlooks.  With millions of views, her powerful storytelling is a beacon for critical issues such as social justice, equality and suicide prevention. Since starting at ESPN in 2012, numerous other projects have decorated Ms. Contreras’ career. As a director and producer, she is a one-time Emmy award-winner, five-time Emmy nominee, and a two-time New York Festivals Silver Medal recipient. She credits her success to the subjects who are willing to share their stories and a passion to make content that matters.

ALFRED DIAZ-INFANTE
In Memoriam
 

Alfred Diaz-Infante was President and CEO of the Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association (CHISPA), Monterey County’s largest non-profit housing organization.  Under Mr. Diaz-Infante’s 23 years of leadership, CHISPA built and renovated 2,447 single-family homes and apartments for low- and moderate-income people in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. He also guided efforts to bolster access to education to residents by establishing three college scholarships that have awarded over $79,000 to seventy-two students. Furthermore, he strongly supported onsite education and recreational programs through partnerships with local community organizations. Mr. Diaz-Infante became one of the region’s most recognized leaders, and advocates for farmworker and low-income families, serving on numerous boards across the region. His dedication to affordable housing access was rooted in his own family’s story as the son of immigrant farmworkers. He is survived by Elvira, his wife of 31 years; their three children, Karina, Alexis, and Marcos; and grandson, Leo.

RON HERRERA
Achievement in Public Service

SONIA MANZANO
Achievement in Arts & Entertainment

ALFONSO R. PADRON PhD
Achievement in
Community Empowerment

Dr. Alfonso Padrón has over 20 years of experience working in the counseling field and ten years as a parent and advocate for special need students. Raised in Parlier, Dr. Padrón grew up with a keen awareness of Latinos being overlooked in the education system, as he witnessed it in his own community. He has dedicated his life to serving others as a substance abuse counselor, restorative justice director, and now a Special Education Advocate.  Dr. Padrón began Parent Advocacy for Special Education (PASE) in 2013 with the intention of helping Latino parents of children with disabilities navigate the school system. His years of counseling and specialized training in advocacy positioned him at the forefront of representing special need students and their parents in California as they struggled through the maze of educational hearings and legal proceedings. In the last ten years, Dr. Padrón has helped hundreds of families in the Central Valley and across the state, by empowering them, informing them of their rights through the special education system, and supporting these parents in exercising those rights.  Dr. Padrón has managed to acquire thousands of services for these students including tutoring, physical therapy, nonpublic schools, specialized programs, mental health supports, and so much more.

 
GEORGE L. PLA
Achievement in Business & Philanthropy

George L. Pla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and author whose work spans business and civic activities focused on enhancing and empowering communities throughout California.  Mr. Pla is the Founder and CEO of Cordoba Corporation, a full-service engineering firm that specializes in the delivery of infrastructure projects in the transportation, education, water, and energy sectors.  His business background also encompasses the fields of finance and banking including the founding, development, and sale of two banks. Mr. Pla’s civic engagements encompass leadership in academic, athletic and cultural institutions, and business organizations that have far-reaching impacts in the community.  He is a Governor’s appointee currently serving as the President of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission. Mr. Pla’s support for academic institutions includes serving as a member of the Program Advisory Committee for Stanford University’s Construction Institute and as a Presidential Associate at the University of Southern California. Mr. Pla is the co-author of the formative book on Latino politics, “Power Shift – How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America” which chronicles the development of Latino political empowerment through the inspiring journeys of ten trailblazing Latino leaders. 

MARIA S. SALINAS
Achievement in Business

Maria S. Salinas is the President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the largest business association in Los Angeles County representing member companies and serving the interests of more than 235,000 businesses across the region. Ms. Salinas took the helm of the organization in August of 2018 and became the first woman and Latina to lead the Chamber in its 132-year history. Ms. Salinas is also an appointee to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Commission on the Future of Work and was named to his Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force. She serves on the US Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100, represents the Los Angeles business community in statewide policy initiatives with the Coalition of Regional Economic Association Leaders (R.E.A.L.), is a member of the Board of Directors of Mobility 21, a regional transportation effort, and serves as an appointee of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to the MEXLA Commission, a foreign policy initiative between Mexico and Los Angeles. Ms. Salinas also serves on the Board of Directors of The Music Center, Pacific Council, UnidosUS and Southern California Leadership Network among others.

IRENE TOVAR
Achievement in
Public Service

Irene Tovar is a Chicana activist who has served the Latino community since the 1960’s. She was part of the Chicano Movement and had the opportunity to work with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Ms. Tovar was also active in the Chicano Moratorium Committee to protest against the injustices that Chicanos were facing during the Vietnam War. Ms. Tovar held a position in the administration of former Governor Jerry Brown serving as a special assistant to expedite government services, and served eight years as the first Mexican American appointed to the State Personnel Board. As President of the Board from 1975 to 1981, she was instrumental in implementing policies and procedures, including differential pay and Affirmative Action, which removed artificial barriers in the State Civil Service system. She subsequently served a four-year term on the Public Employment Relations Board, overseeing union negotiations at the state’s colleges, universities and public school systems. While at the Governor’s office, Ms. Tovar organized a statewide Chicanas Issues Conference with over 2,000 attendees.  Since 1991, Ms. Tovar has served as the CEO of the Latin American Civic Association.  She will receive an Honorary Doctoral Degree in the Humanities from CSU Northridge in May 2022. 

Dr. GUILLERMO VALENZUELA
Achievement in Health & Science

For more than 40 years, Dr. Guillermo Valenzuela has worked to improve the care, education, and opportunities for the Latino community in the Inland Empire. A native of Chile, where he was raised in challenging economic circumstances, Dr. Valenzuela became an OB-GYN physician and built a Women’s Health Department that serves San Bernardino county’s poorest residents.  A lifelong learner, Dr. Valenzuela completed two fellowships and earned an MBA later in life, while practicing medicine full-time. Later, Dr. Valenzuela led the turnaround of a company, which ultimately managed care for 140,000 patients before he sold it to a Fortune 100 company. Dr. Valenzuela currently owns seven clinics where 20,000 families receive care for physical and behavioral needs. He founded the Valenzuela Family Foundation and the Hispanic Health Institute to support programs and research that improve the health of diverse populations. Dr. Valenzuela regularly sponsors programs that award computers to middle school students in an essay contest. Because his mother is an artist, he also ‘practices’ poetry as well as medicine.