Most people in the Minnesota Latino community probably don’t realize the amount of influence that the Chicano Latino Affairs Council (CLAC) has had on the quality of life of our community.
But thanks to the vision of the Board of directors of CLAC and to new leadership, this government agency has the potential to do even more to improve the conditions most Latinos in Minnesota live. CLAC is a statewide government agency created by the legislature in 1978. The primary mission of CLAC is to advise the governor and the state legislature on the issues of importance to Minnesotas Chicano Latino community.
In October 2009, CLAC’s board of directors decided to take a new direction and chose Héctor García as its Executive Director. García was a non-traditional hire for CLAC. Héctor’s background included extensive leadership experience in Business and nonprofits. His experience included consulting services on international investment, market growth/development and trade as well as on intercultural relations. Mr. García was Vice President, International and Domestic Emerging Markets at Wells Fargo Bank Private Client Services, and a consultant with British firm The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Mr. García co-founded Minnesotans for NAFTA with 3M and was hired as its Executive Director. Héctor graduated in Business Administration from I.T.A.M. in Mexico City. He studied Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Project Management at the University of St. Thomas, and the French language in France, Canada, and Mexico. He has presented his views on international and intercultural relations in articles published in the United States and Mexico as well as through lectures in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United States.
CLAC continues to be dedicated to legislative and community engagement in order to be a bridge between the Latino community and Minnesota’s government and general public. But at this time of economic crisis, the capacity to appeal to legislators and the governor has to be complemented by demonstrating the value-added Latinos contribute to Minnesota. The powerful right conferred by the State to CLAC of being able to propose new legislation will be strengthened by supporting those recommendations with innovative ideas and the means to make them a reality; this, in turn, will elicit interest and enthusiasm from legislators.
During an interview on September 2nd, Héctor García said that CLAC maintains a commitment to foster Latino civic consciousness at both the local and
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