Keynote Speaker: Alejandra Campoverdi
Alejandra Campoverdi is a nationally recognized advocate for educational opportunity and women’s health, a bestselling author, founder, and former White House aide to President Obama.
Alejandra’s national bestselling book, FIRST GEN, is the winner of the Dolores Huerta Award by the International Latino Book Awards, who also named Alejandra its 2024 Rising Star in Nonfiction. FIRST GEN is also the winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award and was chosen by the Council for Opportunity in Education as their 2024 Opportunity Matters Book Club selection, a nationwide book club for first-generation and low-income students at colleges and universities across the country.
In 2024, Alejandra founded the First Gen Fund, a 501c3 that provides hardship grants directly to first gen students. She produced the groundbreaking PBS health documentary Inheritance, and founded the LATINOS & BRCA awareness initiative in partnership with Penn Medicine’s Basser Center for BRCA. Previously, Alejandra served in the Obama White House as White House Deputy Director of Hispanic Media.
Alejandra holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California. She currently serves on the board of the California Community Foundation and is a Senior Fellow at the USC Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Schedule
Time |
Activity |
| 7:30 am | Registration & Check-in: Entertainment: Los Lobos Mariachi |
| 8:30 am | Conference Greetings: Cristian Mendez Garcia & Anna Hernandez-Hunter |
| 9:00 am – 9:45 am | Conference Keynote: Alejandra Campoverdi |
| 10:00 am -10:45am | Workshops & exhibitor fair (more info to come) |
| 11:00 am – 11:50am | Workshops & exhibitor fair (more to come) |
| 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm | Workshops & Exhibitor Fair (more to come) |
| 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm | Workshops & Exhibitor Fair (more to come) |
| 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm | Closing sessions: Thanks & recognitions |
Parking
Campus Map & Directions
The campus of Western Oregon University is located at 345 Monmouth Ave N, Monmouth, OR 97301.
About
About CECLC
Welcome to the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference (CECLC).
CECLC began in 1990 as a gathering of Hispanic high school students from Portland Public Schools. The first event took place in early February at Montgomery Park. The day before the conference, a snow storm hit the Portland metropolitan area which resulted in the closing of the schools and the cancellation of bus transportation. By midmorning, on the day of the event, a determined group of PPS students found their way to the conference site. They were not to be deterred.
Through the efforts of Sonny Montes and Jose Romero and a partnership with Hispanics in Unity for Oregon (HIUFO), the conference was established.
Since 1990 the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference has been a volunteer driven event that has been organized by what is now a nonprofit group called CECLC Inc. CECLC Inc. is governed by an executive board and planning committee. The committee members include volunteer representatives from school districts, community organizations, local businesses, colleges and universities. They are responsible for organizing, planning and implementing the conference each year.
In 2007, the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference moved from the Portland area to being hosted on the Western Oregon University campus. That same year the ECMC Foundation, whose mission is to inspire and to facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes —especially among underserved populations, became a key sponsor. In 2017, CECLC, Inc. decided to strengthen their partnership with Western Oregon University and make WOU their permanent conference site. Western Oregon University has not only hosted this event for several years, but they have dedicated staff time, campus resources and student volunteers to help ensure that CECLC Inc. and the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference is able to continue their mission; to instill in our Latino/a youth, the value of education; which nurtures mind, body and spirit in order to develop a social consciousness that empowers them as leaders for social justice and civic responsibility in the greater community.
You can contact the CECLC committee to provide comments, to report concerns, or to ask a question, at the following email address: ceclc@wou.edu.
Sponsor
On behalf of the HSI Summit committee, we would like to give a special thank you to our sponsors for their major support of the annual Summit. The continued success of our programs relies on the generosity of corporate sponsors, foundations, individuals, and contributors.
Our Key sponsor for this event is the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
Accommodations
If you would like to request disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in a WOU activity or event, please complete the online request form at least three (3) business days in advance. If you have questions, contact Disability Access Services (DAS) at 503-838-8250 or das@wou.edu.
