Elección Latina

Elección Latina

Election Latina panelistsCAWP and LUPE Fund, Inc., together with a steering committee of leaders in the Latino/a community, sponsor Elección Latina, a preconference session of the New Jersey Ready to Run® Campaign Training for Women. Elección Latina participants attend a half-day session that targets issues of particular interest to Latinas running for political office.  Elección Latina participants then attend Ready to Run® to learn about the nuts and bolts of working on a campaign.  Ready to Run® offers a unique opportunity for potential women candidates to hear directly from prominent elected and appointed leaders, campaign consultants, and party officials about how to get Ready to Run®.  Topics covered include fundraising, navigating the political parties, working with the media, and developing a campaign plan.  

2016 Agenda
Elección Latina Steering Committee

More details about Ready to Run®here

Elección Latina/Ready to Run® 2016 Agenda

(Check back regularly for updates.) 

Friday, March 18, 2016

8:00 am Registration Opens
8:30 - 9:45 am 

Welcome and Opening Keynote

10:00 - 10:30 am 

 

 

 

 

 

The Latina Advantage: Gender, Race, and Political Success
Christina E. Bejarano, Author and Associate Professor, University of Kansas
Racial/ethnic minority women have made significant strides in U.S. politics both in Congress and in state legislatures. Scholars have offered no clear explanations for this electoral phenomenon—until now. In The Latina Advantage, Christina E. Bejarano draws on national public opinion data and a close examination of state legislative races in Texas and California to demonstrate the new power of the political intersection between race and gender. Her evidence indicates that minority female candidates encounter fewer disadvantages than their male counterparts, due both to increasingly qualified candidates and the softening of perceived racial threat. Bejarano brings a crucial new perspective to dialogues about the rapidly shifting face of America’s electorate. Bejarano is an associate professor at the University of Kansas, and her areas of interest include US Politics, Racial/Ethnic Minority Political Behavior, Latino Politics, Women and Politics, and Political Psychology.

10:30 am - noon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owning your Leadership and Finding your Power
This workshop will explore the meaning of leadership and develop the personal skills of effective leadership; finding your power, self-awareness, social empathy and the intersectionality of diversity and inclusion.  We will identify the qualities that will make you an effective leader and how to use them to accomplish your personal goals of running for office and getting results for the people you want to represent.

Patricia Campos-Medina
President & CEO, Campos Strategies Group
Co-Director & Extension Associate, Union Leadership Institute, The Worker Institute, Cornell University ILR
Campos-Medina is a labor educator, union campaign consultant and political strategist with expertise in union contract campaigns, community coalition building, political campaigns and Latino voter outreach. She has extensive experience in government affairs with policy and legislative background in the field of labor rights, immigration reform, and international trade.

Wendy S. Martinez
Associate, 1868 Public Affairs
Martinez specializes in providing professional services and resources in the areas of public affairs, public relations, media relations, political consulting, media production in both English and Spanish, development of effective marketing concepts and persuasive engagement strategies that resonate in the Latino market. With rich experience in marketing and advertising, branding, communications, community engagement and advocacy outreach, Martinez helps public officials and organizations achieve their economic, cultural, social, and political goals and objectives.

12:15 – 1:45 pm
 

Ready to Run® Welcome and Lunch Plenary Session: What Women Candidates Need to Know
(for the full details of the Ready to Run® agenda, including speakers, click here.

2:00 - 4:00 pm

 

 

 

 

 

Breakout Sessions
Track 1: Launching Your Campaign

This session provides an overview of the key elements of a campaign, including assessing and establishing oneself as a candidate, developing a campaign plan, structuring a campaign organization, and voter contact. 

Track 2: Political Parties, Appointments, and Advocacy – Tools and Tips for Getting Started
This session, designed for those who are not ready to run but want to have an impact on important issues, offers an overview of the “nuts and bolts” of government and political parties in the state. Topics covered will include positioning oneself for appointment to a public board or commission, getting active in a political party, and using effective advocacy techniques. The first half of the panel will address how to become active in the political parties. The second section of the panel will cover positioning oneself for appointment to a public board or commission and learning how to be an advocate on legislative issues.

4:15 - 5:45 pm

 

Plenary: Fundraising for Success
Fundraising is one of the most crucial aspects of a campaign. This interactive workshop covers key components of campaign fundraising, including special emphasis on understanding why people give and the in-person “ask.” The session will also address developing a strategy for your campaign, building a donor list, recruiting and motivating a finance committee, and special events. 

5:45 pm  Networking Reception

Saturday, March 19, 2016

8:00 am Registration opens
8:45 - 9:30 am Welcome Back and Opening Keynote: My Story from the Campaign Trail

9:40 - 11:30 am

 

 


 

Breakout Sessions

Track 1: Navigating New Jersey’s Political Parties As a Potential Candidate
The session will highlight the power dynamics of party organizations, building relationships with party operatives and gaining the party’s support, and will address how to respond when the party organization is not supportive.

Track 2: The Campaign Trail: Getting Involved
This session, designed for those who are not ready to run but want to work and volunteer on campaigns, offers an overview of the opportunities of getting involved in campaigns at every level and offer advice on how to build on those experiences. 

11:30 am - 1:45 pm

 

Luncheon Plenary: Conquering the Camera – An Interactive Media Training
This interactive media training workshop will include tips for successful interviews on tough topics, how to look poised and professional on camera, staying on message, and public speaking techniques. Selected participants will take part in mock interviews and on-camera practice sessions. 

2:00 - 3:30 pm 

 

 

Plenary Session: Internet Strategies for Candidates, Campaigns and Advocates
Internet outreach is a key aspect of today’s political and advocacy campaigns. Online tools including blogs, social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online organizing and communications resources are increasingly important for getting campaign messages out to a broad audience of potential voters or stakeholders. This session will provide an overview of best practices and offer practical tips on how to get started or enhance your online presence.


Elección Latina Steering Committee

(affiliations for identification purposes only)
 
Peggy Anastos
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Martha L. Bahamon

Milagros Camacho
Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey

Grissele Camacho-Pagan, Esq.
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Patricia Campos-Medina
Campos Strategies

Carmen Diaz
LUPE Fund, Inc.,
New Brunswick Library Board of Trustees, and
Douglass College Alumnae Association Board of Directors

Wilda Diaz
Mayor, Perth Amboy

Zulima V. Farber, Esq.
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Nilda Garcia
Latina Women’s Council of Mercer County

Lucía Gómez-Jiménez
La Fuente, A Tri-State Worker and Community Fund

Wendy Martinez
1868 Public Affairs and LUPE Fund, Inc.

Gilda Morales
Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) and
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Iveth Mosquera
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Margarita Muñiz

Andrea Martinez-Mejia
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Arlene Quinones Perez, Esq.
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Jose Perez

Lillian A. Plata, Esq.
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Katty Rivera
Rutgers University Latino Alumni Association (LAARU)

Ana Shaener
Mujeres Latinas en Acción

Gloria Soto, Esq.
LUPE Fund, Inc.

Noemi Velázquez
LUPE Fund, Inc.
 

Questions? 

Contact Jean Sinzdak at (848) 932-8781 or sinzdak@eagleton.rutgers.edu.