Florida's Hispanic Leaders

Sonia Sotomayor

She is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retired Justice David Souter . Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 6, 2009, by a vote of 68–31, and she was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on August 8. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice.

Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent and was born in the Bronx. Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with an A.B., summa cum laude, from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for five years before entering private practice in 1984. She played an active role on the boards of directors for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, and her nomination was confirmed in 1992.

Jorge Labarga

Jorge Labarga is a Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, taking office on January 6, 2009. He was a Judge for the 15th Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, Florida from 1996 until 2009. He is notable as the judge who refused a new vote during the 2000 U.S. Presidential election on the grounds that the Constitution stated that an election must be held everywhere in the United States on the same day, not just in one area. He is the second Cuban-American ever appointed to the Florida Supreme Court and the only Hispanic currently serving.

Prior to his Supreme Court appointment, Labarga had been appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to the Fourth District Court of Appeal for Florida, an intermediate appellate court based in West Palm Beach, Florida. He served in that position only a single day, January 5, 2009. His term on that court was cut short when Governor Crist quickly elevated Labarga to the Florida Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Harry Lee Anstead.

Labarga was born in Havana, Cuba. Labarga received his Bachelors degree from the University of Florida. He also received his Juris Doctor from this institution in 1979. After law school he became an Assistant Public Defender. In 1996, Governor Lawton Chiles appointed him a Circuit Court Judge.

Kenneth Salazar

Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American politician and rancher from Colorado, currently serving as United States Secretary of Interior in the Obama administration. Salazar, a Democrat, served as Attorney General of Colorado before winning a U.S. Senate seat in the 2004 election. He became the junior Senator from Colorado in January 2005 and became the senior Senator following Wayne Allard's retirement in January 2009. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977. They were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006.

Ken Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colorado and grew up near Manassa in the community of Los Rincones in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado to parents Emma M. and Henry (Enrique) S. Salazar.

Hilda L. Solís

Hilda Lucia Solis (born October 20, 1957) is the 25th United States Secretary of Labor, serving in the Obama administration. She is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, representing the 31st and 32nd congressional districts of California that include East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

Solis was raised in La Puente, California by immigrant parents from Nicaragua and Mexico. She gained degrees from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and the University of Southern California and worked for two federal agencies in Washington, D.C. Returning to her native state, she was elected to the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees in 1985, the California State Assembly in 1992, and the California State Senate in 1994. She was the first Hispanic woman to serve in the State Senate, and was reelected there in 1998. She became known for her work toward environmental justice and was the first female recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2000.

Armando Codina

A Cuban-American self-made millionaire, Codina’s first venture was the creation of Professional Automated Services, Inc. (P.A.S.), a firm created in 1970 to provide data processing services to physicians. As a result of the firm's success, Codina is recognized as a pioneer in the development of comprehensive medical management systems, including processing, accounts receivable, management reporting and multiple financial services. In 2006, Codina Group and Flagler Development merged into one company, thus establishing one of the most respected real estate investment, development, construction, brokerage and property management firm corporations in Florida.

PEDRO JOSE GREER

A Cuban born in Miami, Florida, Dr. Greer grew up in the western suburbs of Miami. One of the turning points in his life was the death of his sister, Chichi, who died alone in a car crash on her way to celebrate her birthday. In her name, he promised he would not let any of his patients suffer alone. Today, Dr. Greer is the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Florida International University and a practicing hepatolgastrologist and gastroenterologist at Mercy Hospital.

EMILIO & GLORIA ESTEFAN

She was born Gloria Fajardo, in Havana, Cuba and fled as a toddler with her family when Communist dictator Fidel Castro rose to power.

In 1975 Gloria met keyboardist Emilio Estefan, a sales manager for the rum dealer Bacardi who also led a band called the Miami Latin Boys. Born in Havana, Cuba. Estefan moved to the U.S. as a teenager. He started his musical career playing in restaurants and for weddings and other events. Emilio heard Gloria sing, and when he met her again at a wedding at which the Miami Latin Boys were entertaining, he asked her to sit in with the band. The rest, as they say, is history. Developing Estefan Enterprises into an entertainment empire that incorporates music, television, and film production, restaurants and hotels, most recently, the Costa d'Este resort in Vero Beach, Florida, they give new meaning to the word, multitaskers.

Emilio Azcárraga Jean

The son of Mexican media mogul Emilio Azcárraga Milmo and French citizen Nadine Jean, Azcárraga Jean leads Grupo Televisa, currently Mexico’s leading broadcaster. Jean took the reins of Grupo Televisa, now Mexico's leading broadcaster, after his father passed away in 1997. He is one of Latin America’s richest business persons with a fortune estimated at 1.6 billion dollars according to Forbes.

A Board Member of Teléfonos de Mexico, Univision and Banamex and Jean owns almost 15% of the company's outstanding shares.

Ernesto de la Fé

Originally from Cuba, Ernesto de la Fé is a results oriented leader and business builder with a strong track record of achievement. He has over twenty years of experience in global financial markets with an extensive background in wealth management, private banking, and mid-tier institutional sales. He is active in community and professional organizations including serving as Chairman of the Miami-Dade Public Health Trust, and on the boards of the Florida International Bankers Association, the New America Alliance Institute, Baypoint Schools (for at risk boys) , Belen Jesuit Prep School and the Cuba Study Group. During his tenure in the financial industry, de la Fé has created one of the most productive and profitable sales forces covering Latin America of any major global investment bank. As a regional manager for Lehman Brothers, he was instrumental in more than doubling the region’s revenues for the company within a three year period. As a result of his efforts, his group ranked among the highest revenue per broker of any major firm covering the Latin American market. Recently, he was honored by the South Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America with the 2007 Hispanic Heritage Community Leader Award.

Jorge Ramos

Born in Mexico in 1958, Ramos is the eldest of five children. He graduated with a degree in Communications from Universidad Iberoamericana de México and later received his M.A. from the University of Miami. He immigrated to California in 1983, and just one year later began broadcasting for the network that would become Univision, where he serves as the main news anchor today. His newscast is seen by over one million viewers in the United States and in 13 Latin American countries. He is also a writer as well as a highly regarded radio commentator.

Ramos reaches over 40 million Latinos in the United States and in Latin American countries. He was the first American network TV evening news anchor to broadcast live from the Middle East at the commencement of the Iraq War and has witnessed some of the most important news stories of the last two decades, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Ramos writes a weekly syndicated column that appears in more than 40 newspapers in the U.S. and Latin America along with his popular radio show. He has authored several best-selling books, including the acclaimed “Dying to Cross.” On top of that he has won eight Emmy Awards and was nominated for Vivir Latino’s Most Influential Latino 2006.

Manuel Díaz

Diaz immigrated to the United States with his mother, Elisa, in 1961 and grew up in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. First elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005, Diaz is now recognized as one of America’s most innovative mayors, chosen to lead the United States Conference of Mayors as its president beginning in the summer of 2008. Diaz exhibits foresight and creativity when addressing the city’s challenges. Plans have included a billion dollar Capital Improvement Plan to rebuild the city’s infrastructure without levying new taxes and Miami 21, a land use and zoning master plan that incorporates new urbanism and smart growth. He is a signatory to the Mayor’s Climate Protection agreement, pledging to reduce global warming emissions, promote “Green Building” throughout the City, and convert the city fleet to hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicles by 2012.

Melquíades ‘Mel’ Martínez

Martinez arrived in the U.S. at 15 as part of the humanitarian mission, Operation Peter Pan. Having come from Cuba without his family, Martinez lived in youth facilities and foster homes until 1966, when he and his family were reunited. A successful trial attorney, Martinez served as the 12th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush. At the urging of the president, he sought the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida. He won and was sworn in as Florida’s 33rd U.S. Senator in January 2005. The first Cuban-American to serve in the U.S. Senate, Martinez is considered a conservative Republican — he is pro-life, opposes same-sex marriage, and supports the troops and their mission in Iraq. A steward of his state, Martinez helped push through legislation that created a 125-mile buffer zone along Florida’s coast, thus protecting that area from off-shore drilling, and has been praised for his gentlemanly conduct throughout negotiations. Passionate about democratic reforms, Martinez is dedicated to advancing civil society throughout the Western hemisphere and is actively involved in U.S. Cuban policy. Martinez served on the Armed Services, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources committees as well as a special committee on aging until his resignation, announced in August 2009.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

She was born in Cuba in July 15,1952, she is a Republican United States Representative for Florida's 18th congressional district having held that office since 1989. She is currently the most senior Republican woman in the United States Congress. Ros-Lehtinen is the Ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 110th Congress. Prior to entering political life, Ros-Lehtinen was an educator and the owner/operator of a private school in Miami-Dade County. Upon her election to succeed the late Congressman Claude Pepper, she became the first Cuban American congresswoman elected to the United States Congress.

Remedios Díaz Oliver

The President of All American Containers, Díaz-Oliver oversees a major global supplier of containers and caps. The Cuban native graduated from Havana Business University and Havana College but eventually left the island with an infant daughter to pursue freedom in the U.S. She got a job with American International Container and later became the company’s president. She resigned from AIC in 1991 to found her own supplier, All American Containers. Her client list includes Coca-Cola, McCormick, Schering, and PepsiCo, however more than 50% of the company's revenues come from abroad, largely South America and the Caribbean.

Why she made the list: In 1968, Remedios became the first woman to receive the “E” award for Excellence in Export from the President of the United States. In the early 90s, she was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as one of three international trade advisers for the Advisory Committee for Trade Policies and Negotiations. Today, she sits on the board of a Fortune 1000 company and her family is listed among the wealthiest Hispanic families in the U.S. Diaz-Oliver is a global entrepreneur: despite the name, All American Containers distributes to 52 countries.

Antonia Coello Novello

Antonia Coello Novello (born Antonia Coello, August 23, 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico), served as the United States Surgeon General from 1990 to 1993. Novello received her B.S. degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in 1965 and her M.D. degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine at San Juan in 1970.

She then completed her internship and residency in nephrology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Novello remained at Michigan in 1973 -1974 on a fellowship in the Department of Internal Medicine, and spent the following year on a fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. From 1976 to 1978, she was in private practice in pediatrics in Springfield, Virginia.

Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President George H. W. Bush, beginning her tenure on March 9, 1990 and was appointed to the temporary rank of Vice Admiral in the regular corps while holding that office. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold the position.

During her tenure as Surgeon General, VADM Novello focused her attention on the health of women, children and minorities, as well as on underage drinking, smoking, and AIDS. She played an important role in launching the Healthy Children Ready to Learn Initiative. She was actively involved in working with other organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood injury prevention efforts. She spoke out often and forcefully about illegal underage drinking, and called upon the United States Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General to issue a series of eight reports on the subject.

Lincoln Rafael Diaz-Balart

Lincoln Rafael Diaz-Balart (born Lincoln Rafael Diaz-Balart y Caballero on August 13, 1954), an Cuban-American politician, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, the Florida Senate, and since 1993 has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 21st congressional district.

Mario Rafael Diaz-Balart

Mario Rafael Diaz-Balart (born September 25, 1961) is an American politician. Since 2003 he has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 25th congressional district. The district includes large portions of western Miami-Dade County and most of Collier and Monroe counties.

Carlos Alvarez

Alvarez was born in Cuba, and was eight years old when his family came to the United States. He was elected Mayor of Miami-Dade County in November of 2004. Prior to his election as Mayor, Alvarez was director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, having served the community in various capacities for more than 27 years, beginning in 1976.

Dolores Huerta

Huerta grew up in California's agricultural San Joaquin Valley, where her mother owned a restaurant and a hotel that often let farm workers stay free. Huerta received a teaching degree from the University of the Pacific's Delta Community College. After teaching elementary school for a short time, Huerta left to work with farm workers. In 1955 Huerta was a founding member of the Stockton, Calif., chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO), which opposed segregation and lobbied for better conditions for farm workers.

After founding the Agricultural Workers Association in 1960, Huerta became a lobbyist in Sacramento. The following year, she fought for legislation making non-U.S. citizens eligible for pensions and public assistance. She also backed successful legislation that allowed people to vote and take driver's examinations in Spanish.