To take a more focused approach to addressing the educational needs of the Hispanic population, Walden University has added the Laureate Education/Walden University Hispanic Advisory Committee to its leadership roster.

“Walden expects that serving the growing and underserved Hispanic market segment will contribute largely to its institutional mission of effecting positive social change,” says Dr. Manuel Barrera, dean of Walden’s College of Education.

The committee, whose 10 members bring a rich variety of expertise and background to the panel, is charged with helping Walden formulate policies, retention tools and outreach strategies to attract more Latino students, and contribute in a larger way to society’s needs for Latino leadership across all professions and sectors. 

“A number of barriers and issues prevent more college attainment among Latinos in the United States,” Barrera says. “We think, however, that quality online education can address many of those challenges.”

Studies show that a variety of forces keep the barriers high for Latinos: the need to work, that many are first-generation college students, an aversion to debt and lack of full understanding of the financial aid system, and that many are English language learners or have come from dysfunctional, overcrowded high school settings that contributed to a weaker K–12 educational experience. 

The committee, which has met three times since September, has set two initial goals:

• Identifying issues underlying any education gaps between Hispanics and the general population
• Putting forth recommendations to address those issues

Toward that end, Barrera says, a research project is under way that involves a comprehensive review of existing published data. This will help pinpoint and develop solutions to address and bring down some of the education barriers. To date, the committee has put forth a number of recommendations aimed at the acquisition and retention of Latino students. Some of the recommendations are slated to go into effect later this year.  

Members of the Hispanic Advisory Committee

Rosa V. Alonso is founder and CEO for MiApogeo.com/Mi Apogeo Inc., a marketing consultancy aimed at helping companies and organizations reach the Latino segment with in-culture and in-language services and communications. The goal of MiApogeo.com and Mi Apogeo Inc. is to pioneer a consumer experience: brands, content, and platforms that are culturally relevant to the bicultural 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanic consumer in the U.S.  Mi Apogeo (pronounced “mee- a–po–hae-o”, which translates from Spanish as “my apogee”) is an affirmation of the power of two cultures – American and Latino.  MiApogeo.com will celebrate the American Latino experience and will launch in mid-2007.

She formerly was senior vice president for Edelman Multicultural. An accomplished marketing and sales executive, she has dedicated much of her 15-year-plus career to launching and directing integrated multicultural and international initiatives for Fortune 100 companies as well as for startup ventures. She has held key leadership positions and senior roles at AT&T Wireless, Univision, People en Español and Latino.com. She is also a frequent lecturer.

Alonso received her B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University, and her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Dr. Manuel Barrera is dean of Walden’s College of Education.

Barrera formerly served as assistant professor of urban education and past chair of the Department of Education at Metropolitan State University, in Minneapolis. He has also served there as special assistant to the dean of College of Professional Studies, project director of the Bilingual/ESL Pre-Service Teacher Support Program, and assessment coordinator for the Urban Teacher Program.

Barrera maintains an active research agenda related to the effectiveness of instruction, assessment and parent involvement in the education of English language learners with disabilities. 

Barrera earned his Ph.D. in special education from Pennsylvania State University; he also earned, from Western Oregon State College, an M.S. in special education with rural and cross-cultural studies and a B.S. in secondary integrated science, biology and bilingual education.

Margaret Barrett is the director of development, Mid-Atlantic region, for Catholic Relief Services, where she manages the portfolio for major giving.

She formerly developed annual plans and coordinated special events for business units to increase industry and media awareness of products and technologies. Barrett oversaw the design and production of event-related materials for Westinghouse’s annual research and development symposium targeting federal agencies; produced media campaigns with Canadian, Russian and British counterparts; and chaired the annual Share-the-Care benefit.

Barrett earned a B.A. in international relations/English from Goucher College, in Baltimore.

Augusto Failde is senior vice president of global business development for Laureate Education. He is responsible for international market development and the creation of internal cross-border partnerships between Laureate’s campus-based and online universities. Before joining Laureate, Failde served as senior vice president for business development with New York University’s online division. Prior to entering the higher education industry, he was president of Tropix Media Inc., a media advisory firm formed in partnership with Time Warner’s Home Box Office division. Earlier in his career, he evaluated venture capital investments as part of Merrill Lynch’s Venture Capital management team.

Failde has an M.B.A. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. He is a co-author of one of the country’s first business/self-help books for U.S. Latinos, Simon & Schuster’s Latino Success/Exito Latino.

Dr. Roberto A. Ibarra is an associate professor of sociology at the University of New Mexico; an assistant vice chancellor, emeritus, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and senior consultant for Ibis Consulting Group.

A practicing anthropologist, his career spans more than three decades and includes teaching, research and administrative experiences in every educational level, from Head Start and K–12, to undergraduate and graduate, and now distance-learning institutions offering advanced degrees. His latest book, Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing the Context of Higher Education, is a study of Latino graduate students, faculty, administrators and non-academics across the country. 

Ibarra holds a master’s and a Ph.D. in social/cultural anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. R. Ivan Lugo is an associate dean and an associate professor at Temple University School of Dentistry, where he heads the Office of Institutional Relations and Community Affairs and also oversees the Division of Continuing Education. He has created and led numerous initiatives to recruit and retain Latino students at Temple University.  He frequently serves as Spanish language spokesman for the media on matters of dental health for the Hispanic community. 

Previously director of the Special Patient Care Clinic, he expanded dental services to Philadelphia’s uninsured and HIV+/AIDS community through the creation of three outreach clinics as well as mobile dental services to reach homebound individuals. Also a past dental director for the Philadelphia Public Health Department, Lugo is an advocate and spokesman for public health and has represented various related policy efforts at meetings with legislators and by testifying before Congress.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Lugo received his AEGD certificate and his M.B.A. from Temple University.

Alex Rodriguez is president and CEO of Diversity Consulting Group, a firm that he has managed since 1995. He is also secretary of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and part of its executive leadership team.

Rodriguez, appointed to the board of directors of the 19th District Agricultural Association in 2006 by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been recognized by Latino Today newspaper as one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Santa Barbara County. Rodriguez formerly served as director of the Strategic Services Group at Hispanic Business magazine.

He holds a bachelor’s in business management from Antioch University and an executive M.B.A. certificate from Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business in minority enterprise development.

Haydee M. Rodriguez is executive director for the (Maryland) Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

She formerly served as assistant mayor’s representative for the city of Baltimore and the mayor’s liaison to the city’s Hispanic population. She has also served as executive director of Centro de la Comunidad Inc., a multipurpose service center serving Hispanics in the Baltimore metropolitan area; community coordinator and law clerk for the Office of the State’s Attorney of Baltimore City; and as a projects/outreach coordinator appointed by U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski.

Rodriguez earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law and a B.A. in philosophy from Loyola College.

Ana M. Sanchez is director of public relations for Laureate Education, Inc. and heads the University Relations Department for Walden University. She is responsible for carrying out institutional communications targeting Walden students, prospective students and the higher education community. She oversees communications and media relations in the U.S. general and U.S. Hispanic markets and in Latin America. Prior to joining Laureate, Sanchez was director of public relations for Terra Lycos, parent company of leading U.S. Hispanic portal Terra.com, a property of Spanish telecom Telefonica. Throughout her career, she has held positions at Fortune 500 companies such as American Express, FedEx, and Sky TV, a Fox satellite TV venture in Latin America. 

Sanchez earned her B.S. in business administration at Florida International University, where she double majored in journalism/mass communication and international marketing. 

David M. Wellisch is managing director for Latinum LLC.

He formerly was vice president and general manager for Time Warner’s AOL Latino. He also previously served Time Warner as executive director for strategic development/AOL Web properties, and director for advanced services, developing and analyzing new businesses across the company. Wellisch has additional professional backgrounds that include investment management and software development.

Wellisch has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in economics and political science from Brown University.

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