In the News

• Earlier this year, the Association of Hispanic Entrepreneurs (AHE) named four of the country’s rising Hispanic entrepreneurial stars to its board of directors, including 16-year-old Laima A. Tazmin, president of LAVT Web (www.lavtweb.com).

• On May 4, the Latino Coalition presented Perla Gonzalez with a Circle of Excellence Award for giving back to her community. A Mexican immigrant and the owner of four Ohio McDonald’s restaurants, Gonzalez occupies appointed positions in 14 professional and community organizations and sponsors or supports 55 more community groups.

• In February, Univision Communications Inc. announced the promotion of Alina Falcón to executive vice president and operating manager of the Univision Network.

Dr. Aliza

The National Hispanic “got milk?” campaign announced a new spokeswoman in February. Dr. Aliza Lifshitz, a nationally recognized medical expert known as “Dr. Aliza,” joined the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) to educate Hispanics about the many benefits of drinking milk—including weight-loss.

“My goal is to help promote healthy eating habits among Hispanics and teach them that including the recommended 24 ounces—or three glasses—per day of low fat or fat free milk in their reduced calorie diets is an excellent way to help them keep in shape,” says Dr. Aliza.

Dr. Aliza, a medical correspondent for television, radio show host, and columnist, has a private practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Lisboa-Farrow

Former Chair of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Elizabeth Lisboa-Farrow was named to the board of trustees of Group Hospitalization and Medical Services Inc. (GHMSI) in March. GHMSI, which does business as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, is the Washington affiliate of CareFirst Inc. Lisboa-Farrow is the first Latina on the GHMSI board.

“This is substantial because it gives me an opportunity to provide more outreach to the [Hispanic] community,” she says. “It’s exciting for me to be on the GHMSI board because I’ve been a customer for many, many years. It’s nice to now be on the other side where the public policies are created that impact so many in our community.”

Lisboa-Farrow is the founder, president and CEO of LISBOA Inc., a multimedia communications, management, and production consulting company, as well as vice chair of the Hispanic College Fund and a member of the boards of the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education and Comcast Cable of Washington, D.C.

Frances Martinez Myers

In April, Frances Martinez Myers became chairman of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). Martinez Myers, senior vice president at Fox & Roach/Trident LP in Philadelphia, assumed the role at the NAHREP Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. She is the first Latina to serve as chairman of the five-year-old, 14,000-member nonprofit trade association.

In her new role, Martinez Myers will draw on her 30 years of experience in the real-estate industry. “Frances Martinez Myers bring the savvy of a real estate practitioner and the leadership of a corporate executive to her role as head of NAHREP,” says outgoing chairman Gary Acosta. “She is the perfect person to lead the organization to greater prominence at a time when Hispanic consumers are becoming a super force in the marketplace.”

Says Martinez Myers, “NAHREP is posed through its mission to help advance the economic wealth of Hispanics in this country. My involvement with NAHREP personally fulfills a long established goal of mine to never forget where I came from and give back in a way that is meaningful.”