Sept. 9, 2014

VCU celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

University hosts Latina author and activist Juana Bordas on Sept. 16

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By V. Renee Russell
VCU Global Education Office

Virginia Commonwealth University will launch its celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month with a presentation by award-winning Latina author and activist Juana Bordas.

Bordas will speak at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16, in the VCU School of Engineering West Hall, Room 101, 601 W. Main St., Richmond. The event is free and open to the public.

Bordas is president of Mestiza Leadership International, an organization that focuses on leadership, diversity and organizational change. Bordas is an inspirational speaker, author and Latino culture and leadership expert. Her recent book, “The Power of Latino Leadership: Culture, Inclusion, and Contribution,” is the 2014 recipient of the Nautilus Book Award in the area of multicultural/indigenous literature, and her “Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age” receivedthe International Latino Book Award for best leadership book in 2007. Bordas has served as an adviser to Harvard University’s Hispanic Journal on Public Policy and the Kellogg National Fellows Program. She is past vice president of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and trustee of the International Leadership Association, as well as founding president and CEO of the National Hispana Leadership Institute.  

The youngest daughter in a family of eight, Bordas emigrated to the U.S. from Nicaragua on a banana boat at the age of 3 and was the first in her family to attend college. After college, she joined the Peace Corps and worked in the barrios of Santiago, Chile, helping women form work cooperatives that enabled them to feed their families. Bordas later received the Peace Corps' Franklin H. Williams Award for her lifelong commitment to advancing communities of color.

Bordas’ appearance is sponsored by the VCU Global Education Office, Division of Community Engagement, Division for Inclusive Excellence and Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, in collaboration with the Sacred Heart Center, a nonprofit community center that serves Richmond’s Hispanic community.