“Our problems are too complex to pretend we can address them alone. This is why the Summit exists, to learn and support each other”
Co-hosted by Ser Familia and LCF Georgia
2024 Agenda - Unveiling the Status of Latinos in Georgia
8:30am
Continental Breakfast & Welcome by City of Norcross Mayor Craig Newton
9:00am
Opening Remarks - Frank Fernandez, President & CEO Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
9:30am
Methodology, Process, Key Findings - Nikolai Elneser Montiel, Community Impact Officer, Neighborhood Nexus & Gigi Pedraza, Executive Director, Latino Community Fund (LCF Georgia)
10:45am
What is Working? What is Not? Programmatic and Legislative Perspectives - Marvin Lim, Esq. House Representative District 98, CEO of Lucky Shoals Community Association.
Break & Lunch
11:45am
12:30pm
Community Q&A and Discussion
Closing Remarks by Gwinnett Government Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson
1:30pm
Summit Speakers
Frank Fernandez
PRESIDENT & CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is one of America’s top 20 largest community foundations. Frank leverages a full range of assets – human, reputational and financial – to pursue equity of opportunity and change making in both systems and place-based work, aiming to fulfills the Foundation’s mission to lead our region toward equity and shared prosperity for all.
Prior to joining the Foundation, he served for six years as the Senior Vice President for The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and was the CEO of Green Doors, an Austin nonprofit devoted to transforming lives and neighborhoods and was Deputy Director of PeopleFund, a community development financial institution.
A son of Cuban immigrants, Frank is a Florida native and holds a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard University and an M.P.A. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
The State of Latinos in Georgia Report is partially funded by the LatinX Alliance, a collective of Georgia-based Latino leaders across sectors focused on advocating for, and improving the well-being of, Latinx communities across the state. The LatinX Alliance is fiscally sponsored and led by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
Nikolai Elneser Montiel
Community impact officer, Neighborhood nexus
As the Community Impact Officer of Neighborhood Nexus, Nikolai is dedicated to making data more accessible and actionable for sector leaders and communities. In his role, he has led numerous projects to unlock the potential of data to advance equity in Georgia. This includes building strategic partnerships, creating user-friendly data tools, and listening to community voices to help guide decisions.
Nikolai is a Venezuelan urbanist and Fulbright Scholar with a Master's in Public Policy. He has a diverse background in grassroots organizations, humanitarian efforts, and political activism. His work spans various areas, including urban design, violence prevention, and hunger relief, emphasizing how communities organize to develop solutions to their challenges.
As a member of the Neighborhood Nexus team, Nikolai uses data to support nonprofits, government agencies, and community organizations in building a culture of data-informed decision-making across Georgia’s social impact sector.
Marvin Lim
State Representative Marvin Lim represents the citizens of House District 98, which includes portions of Gwinnett County and is densely populated by diverse immigrant communities. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2020.
Rep. Lim immigrated to Georgia from the Philippines at the age of seven. Benefitting from various forms of public assistance growing up, he eventually earned his Bachelor of Arts from Emory University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He performed job development for refugees and immigrants on behalf of Catholic Charities Atlanta and testified for the first time at the state House in 2009. He later obtained his Juris Doctor degree at Yale Law School, where he was awarded the Benjamin N. Cardozo Prize for moot court. Rep. Lim has established a career in both civil rights and securities law and has been with Holcomb + Ward, LLP since 2015. As a Fulbright Scholar and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rep. Lim has also been a frequent writer on law and religion issues and the ethics of life.
Rep. Lim also runs a non-profit organization, the Lucky Shoals Community Association, an organization designed to facilitate positive change and improvements in the HD98 and surrounding area of unincorporated Gwinnett County. He is also an avid marathoner and an Ironman.
Belisa Urbina
Co-founder & CEO of Ser Familia
In 2001, along with her husband Miguel, Belisa co-founded Ser Familia, Inc., which has grown to become one of the largest Latino organizations in Georgia. Ser Familia is the leading program in Georgia providing coordinated multi-disciplinary family, social and mental health services to Latinos.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Belisa studied Business Administration at The University of Puerto Rico and graduated Valedictorian of her class.
She’s been a leader in the community locally and nationally. She is a member of the Prevent Child Abuse Georgia Advisory Board and Georgia’s Child Protective Services Advisory Council and is a former chairperson of Kennestone Hospital’s Regional Board of Directors. She has been a part of Georgia’s Department of Public Health COVID-19 Health Equity Council and was a member of Cobb County’s 2020 Steering Committee.
Nationally, she is a member of the Advisory Council of the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health and she is often asked, by various national organizations, to give presentations about Ser Familia’s unique model for family resource centers.
She is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta (2017) and the Regional Leadership Institute (2019).
Gigi Pedraza
Executive director, Latino community Fund (LCF Georgia)
Gigi Pedraza is the founder and Executive Director of the Latino Community Fund in Georgia a direct service organization and philanthropic intermediary dedicated to accelerate positive and equitable change for Latinos in Georgia through its pillars: Advancing People’s Democracy, Protecting and Building Communities and Expanding Economic Opportunity.
During her tenure, she has been successful at expanding knowledge of the Latino community in the state through various research projects and reports; uplifting immigrant and Latino leadership and contributions and securing over US$13 million for the community including 41 member organizations.
Ms. Pedraza has an active role in the community having co-led various statewide committees and efforts like the Georgia Latino Complete Count Committee for Census, she is an advisory board member of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the Atlanta Speech School, part of the Steering Committee for the Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance, and part of the Program Committee at the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance.
Latino Summit, a Capacity Building and Peer-Learning Opportunity for Leaders in Georgia
The goal of the Annual Latino Summit and Forum is to create a safe space for discussion and action to create better conditions for community wellbeing.
We engage service providers, social workers, program coordinators, community & faith leaders, government executives and business owners and executives to discuss and bring to the forefront the interdependency between health and economic empowerment in the state and in the Southeast at large.
Thank you to our generous supporting organizations and sponsors, we have traditionally being able to host this robust programmatic event at low-cost for nonprofit professionals, government executives, students and faith and community leaders.
If you can not afford the fee that includes all educational opportunities and lunch., please email us.
For special accommodations, please let us know. we are an inclusive event
Belisa Urbina / Gigi Pedraza
CEO, Ser Familia / Executive Director, Latino Community Fund
2024 Summit Location & Venue
Norcross Arts & Cultural Center
Location
Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center (Ballroom)
10 College Street NW, Norcross, GA 30071
Parking
FREE in various locations. On site, along adjacent streets, at the Norcross Public Library and other parking locations in downtown Norcross. See map below. All locations are walking distance (2-3 minutes) from the venue.
