Congratulations to Helda Rodriguez , recently featured as one of 10 Tampa Bay ’ s business people to watch : vision in hard times …
As recently featured in the St . Pete Times 3 . HELDA RODRIGUEZ , 48 , president and co-founder of NovaCharge LLC in Tampa , sees a coming boom in building an infrastructure for electric vehicles thanks to a national urgency to cut foreign oil and a White House eager to promote alternative , cleaner energy . NovaCharge deploys the ChargePoint Network of public plug-in stations that will let electric vehicles recharge in public parking spaces . People can even invest in recharging units , priced under $ 5,000 , and earn revenue from their use . One-year-old NovaCharge supplies recharging systems developed by California ’ s Coulomb Technologies . Rodriguez , a Tampa native , says to look for the first recharging units in the Tampa Bay area
within the next few months .
To Ivette Mayo of Yo Soy I Am , Hig Rodriguez Dillinger of Cirsco , Telemundo - Tampa !
Two of Tampa Bay ’ s Hispanic business leaders were among the list of local business people being honored at the Tampa Bay Business Journal ’ s 2009 Diversity and Inclusion Awards Luncheon on Thursday , March 19th . Ivette Mayo of Yo Soy I Am , and Hig Rodriguez Dillinger of Cirsco .
The Tampa Bay Business Journal honored the Bay area ’ s Top 25 minority-owned businesses based on our annual list and announced the ranking order at the event . Telemundo Tampa also received recognition at the event !
Also recognized were companies and individuals that have been instrumental in contributing to the success of minority-owned businesses in Tampa Bay .
T
he League of United Latin American Citizens ( LULAC ), the largest and oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country , is elated over the nomination of Frank J . Sánchez to be Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade in the Obama Administration .
“ Frank Sánchez brings valuable experience and background to the position ,” said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales . “ This appointment would give him a key role in U . S . trade policy . The undersecretary for international trade oversees four divisions and more than 1,000 employees in trade offices in 85 countries . Frank is no stranger to LULAC and has been involved with the organization for over 10 years .”
In 1999 , he became a Special Assistant to the President of the United States working in the Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas . He worked with the National Security Council , the State Department and the U . S . Trade Representative on Western Hemisphere economic integration and the promotion of democracy .
President Clinton later appointed Mr . Sánchez as U . S . Assistant Secretary of Transportation where he developed aviation policy and oversaw international negotiations . Prior to his work in the federal government and before joining a Cambridge , Massachusetts based consulting company , he practiced corporate and administrative law with the firm of Steel , Hector and Davis in Miami , Florida . Before practicing law , he served in the administration of former Florida Governor and former U . S . Senator Bob Graham , as the first
director of the state ’ s Caribbean Basin Initiative Program . At CNS , Mr . Sánchez works with corporations and governments worldwide on complex transactions , labor-management negotiations , litigation settlement , negotiation strategy , alliance management , facilitation and training . Among his public-sector engagements , Mr . Sánchez headed a team in Medellín , Colombia as part of a “ Teaching Tolerance ” program ; an initiative to break the cycle of violence plaguing the country . More than 300 teachers and community leaders were trained in conflict resolution techniques . He also advised the president of Ecuador in negotiations to settle the 56-year-old border dispute with Peru .
He is a contributing author to Negociación 2000 , a collection of essays on negotiation published by McGraw-Hill . He has also taught negotiation at the Program of Instruction for Lawyers at Harvard Law School .
A Florida native , Mr . Sánchez attended the University of Florida , received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University and holds a master ’ s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University .
The League of United Latin American Citizens advances the economic condition , educational attainment , political influence , health , housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through communitybased programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide .