University of Maryland Celebrates Latinx Heritage Month!
September 15–October 15, 2022
In a series of programming put on by the university and student-led organizations, please join UMD’s Latinx Community in celebration of the history, culture, and vibrancy of all Latinx peoples.
The Office of Multicultural Inclusion and Community Advocacy (MICA) has assembled a calendar for “Oye Mi Voz! Un Cuento de la Vida.”
The University of Maryland celebrates the culture, history, and achievements of Latinx peoples in the United States and the wider Hispanic and Latinx diaspora. Here are some profiles of leaders and innovators in business, technology, and commerce.
Beto Altamirano
Beto Altamirano is the founder and CEO of Irys, an AI-powered software company that lets residents suggest community development projects.
Jacqueline Ruiz
Jacqueline Ruiz is the founder of two companies — a marketing firm and a book publishing company — and is personally the author of 22 books.
Rosario Casas
Rosario Casas is the co-founder and CEO of XR Americas, a company that produces virtual reality workforce training programs. She is a graduate of the WXR Fund, a startup school funded by the elite incubator Y Combinator.
Jeronimo Escudero
Jeronimo Escudero is a senior director for brand-building innovation at P&G.
Beto Perez
Beto Perez is a Colombian dancer and master of Hispanic entrepreneurship who created the dance and fitness craze, Zumba. Since the 1990s, he has licensed 15 million Zumba instructors worldwide. Beto also created a clothing line, videos, and a fitness empire worth $500 million.
Rea Ann Silva
Rea Ann Silva is a professional makeup artist and single mother who invented a unique makeup product. The Original Beautyblender is a sponge unlike any other that received the best in beauty award from Allure.
Dennis deLeon
In 1993, Dennis deLeon publicly disclosed his HIV status in an op-ed for The New York Times, becoming one of the first New York city officials to do so. He was a dedicated HIV/AIDS activist and Latino community leader who served as both the New York City Human Rights Commissioner and President of the Latino Commission on AIDS. Under his tenure as president, the organization grew from a small local organization with a staff of just tw into a national organization with 45 employees and a $5 million budget.
Geisha Williams
Geisha Williams became one of the most successful entrepreneurs as CEO and president of PG&E, one of the biggest electric and natural gas companies in the United States. Geisha is part Cuban and was the first Latina to lead a Fortune 500 company.
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is proud to embrace the TerrapinSTRONG vision of an inclusive environment where every member of our community feels that they belong and are empowered to reach their full potential.
All students, faculty and staff are asked to complete this course. The course will take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
To learn more about TerrapinSTRONG in the Smith School, email Dr. Victor Mullins at vmullins@umd.edu.
Clubs & Associations
Student clubs and organizations keep you involved with campus life — a vital part of the Smith experience. Participating in the many opportunities for learning and achieving that exist everywhere at Smith will change your perspective, your focus — even your life.
‘A Family:’ How Smith Builds Community and Keeps Graduation Rates High
At Maryland Smith, and at organizations across the business world, our diversity is a strength. At Smith, that strength shows through in numbers.
“It shows because of the things that we do to nurture students and support students,” says Victor Mullins, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
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Land Acknowledgement
Every community owes its existence and strength to the generations before them, around the world, who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy into making the history that led to this moment.
Truth and acknowledgement are critical in building mutual respect and connections across all barriers of heritage and difference.
So, we acknowledge the truth that is often buried: We are on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway People, who are the ancestral stewards of this sacred land. It is their historical responsibility to advocate for the four-legged, the winged, those that crawl and those that swim. They remind us that clean air and pristine waterways are essential to all life.
This Land Acknowledgement is a vocal reminder for each of us as two-leggeds to ensure our physical environment is in better condition than what we inherited, for the health and prosperity of future generations.