February 26, 2009
St.
John’s Committee for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
held a luncheon meeting on Thursday, February 19 to honor esteemed
University alumni. José Calderón, Vice President of Programs and
Policy, Hispanic Federation (Outstanding Achievement Award) and
Fanny de La Torre, Merchant Service Director and Compliance
Officer, American Cash Exchange, Inc. (Special Achievement Award)
were feted for their fine accomplishments in their respective
fields.
St. John’s Professor and Chair of the CLACS program, Dr. Alina
Camacho-Gingerich, served as Moderator for the event held at Bent
Hall on the University’s Queens Campus.
Calderón and the Hispanic Federation promote the social,
political and economic well-being of the Latino community through
five action areas: Strengthening Latino Nonprofits; Improving
Educational Achievement; Promoting Health Awareness; Increasing
Financial Stability and Public Policy and Advocacy. This social
service and advocacy organization represents 100 Latino
community-based organizations in the Northeast. He is responsible
for managing the federation’s local/national public policy efforts,
organizational support services and community programs.
Some of the initiatives he oversees include the Federation’s
multi-state civic participation campaigns, citizenship assistance
services, grant-making program, Hispanic Leadership Institute,
early childhood and college education workshops, home assistance
and health prevention activities. During his seven plus years at
the federation, Calderón has helped create and lead important local
and national initiatives like the Hispanic Education Summit,
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day and statewide Hispanic
Legislative Policy Conferences. Before joining the federation,
Calderón worked as the senior Latin American researcher at World
Education Services, a not-for-profit organization involved in
international education.
Calderón has a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, a Master
of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature and an Advanced
Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Latin American and
Caribbean Studies from CLACS.
“CLACS provided a foundation for knowledge and understanding
about the issues affecting the Latin American region and the Latino
population in the U.S., which has aided me in my service to the
Latino community,” said Calderón.
Fanny de la Torre is the Merchant Services Director and
Compliance Officer at American Cash Exchange, Inc, a financial
service IT company. She is responsible for developing and
supporting a state-of-the-art remittances product serving un-banked
immigrants in the US. She was recently promoted and her
responsibilities expanded to include oversight of the anti-money
laundering rules and policies for the company.
“I took a series of graduate courses at St. John’s in various
disciplines as part of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies
program. They gave me new insights into the Latin American reality,
which reinforced my decision to continue supporting projects that
impact the well-being of and provide opportunities for the
marginalized and disfranchised segments of the Latino population,”
added de la
Torre.
As a recognized international consultant since 1981, de la Torre
has extensive experience in production and promotional materials in
agricultural sciences, agri-business, information technology,
economics, social sciences, politics, and natural resources for
international and national organizations.
She holds a M.A. in Spanish Languages and Literature, an
Advanced Graduate Certificate on Latin American and Caribbean
Studies from the Committee of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
at St. John's University at NY, US; a Licenciée degree in Sociology
at University of Louvain, Belgium, and a B.A. in Education Sciences
at Universidad Católica Santa María, Arequipa, Peru. She speaks
Spanish, English, and French.