HispanicBusiness

President, U.S. Trust Corporation
--Company: Charles Schwab
--Currently: Ms. Sevilla-Sacasa moves into her third year as the overseer of the wealth management business of U.S. Trust, a subsidiary of Charles Schwab. She's also the only Hispanic to serve on Schwab's executive committee. Ms. Sevilla-Sacasa was a corporate lending officer to Latin America for several years until she joined Bankers Trust's private bank in 1983. From there, she went on to compile 24 years of experience in global wealth management with high-ranking positions with Citibank, Deutsche Bank's Latin American Private Banking group, and Bankers Trust. Her stint in the securities business with Lehman Brothers gives her 29 years of experience in financial services.



HILDA SOLIS
U.S. Representative, 32nd District of California
--Employer: U.S. Congress
--Currently: The Los Angeles-born Democrat is serving her third term in the House since being elected in November 2000 after stints in both houses of California's Legislature. Her most recent honor came from the League of United Latin American Citizens, which gave her the National Profile in Courage Award for her efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities, and for her role in pushing for women's rights. Representative Solis became the first Hispanic woman appointed to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2003. She's the ranking member on the Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee and is a member of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee. Representative Solis was elected co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues and named chair of the Democratic Women's Working Group.



NINA TASSLER
President
--Company: CBS Entertainment
--Currently: CBS boasts that it "remains America's most-watched network for the fourth consecutive year" under Ms. Tassler's leadership. The Boston University alumna joined the network in 1997 as vice-president [drama] of CBS Productions. She then moved to senior vice-president [drama development] of CBS Entertainment from 1998-2003 before assuming her current position in 2004. She oversees the network's entertainment programming for prime time, late night, and daytime, as well as program development for all genres, including comedy, drama, reality, specials, movies and mini-series. In her first development season as head of entertainment, CBS had the 2005-06 season's top-rated freshman class of series. She received a 2005 Imagen Award, which recognizes individuals for their extraordinary contributions to the entertainment industry and celebrates the advancements of Hispanics.



COLONEL NORMA TOVAR
Director, Training Operations Management Activity
--Employer: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
--Currently: Since 2004, Colonel Tovar has been coordinating the training operations of 32 Army schools and five Army training centers – a responsibility that encompasses 450,000 "seats" and 1,700 courses from basic training on up. In the Army since enlisting in 1981, she has served in postings as diverse as commander of a postal company in Korea to a research fellowship with the RAND Corporation to a professorship in Military Science. Colonel Tovar reports that legal bars to women serving in combat arms has slowed her career, but abundant mentors and peers have inspired her to stay in. "Being a female colonel in the Army is rare; being Hispanic on top of that is even rarer. Yet acceptance has never been an issue. I have been evaluated and valued for my performance and contributions rather than my gender or ethnicity."



LINDA VALDEZ THOMPSON
Vice-President, Administration and Diversity
--Company: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
--Currently: Strong family values and a solid work ethics instilled in Ms. Thompson have played a key role in shaping her into a leader. "As a leader it is important to demonstrate that you can be trusted and that you are committed to the organization's goals," she says. "I have a very strong work ethic that I learned from my parents and our early days of working in the fields. I believe that working is not a chore but a privilege and an honor." The Texas native oversees a staff of 90 and a $20.5 million budget at one of the nation's largest airports. Ms. Thompson's division grew its workforce diversity to 40 percent and introduced a woman's mentoring program as well as cultural diversity and employee relations training. Ms. Thompson joined DFW in February 2001 following 15 years as a human resources executive at Fruit of the Loom and Hasbro.



RUTH ZAMBRANA
Professor in the Women's Studies Department and Director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity, College Park
--Employer: The University of Maryland
--Currently: Dr. Zambrana is an expert in the field of racial and ethnic health, women's health, and institutional barriers to health care. She has researched health care disparities for more than 25 years and has authored two books and more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and monographs. She has focused her study on the intersections of quality and access to health care, class, stress, and chronic conditions. She attributes her success to support from mentors and family members. "We have few role models in the academy, or in any educational institution, to help and encourage Latinas." She hopes to write more about inequality in the public systems that serve Hispanics and other under-represented groups.