On October 10, AL DÍA will host its third annual Hispanic Heritage Awards Luncheon, coinciding with Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15. At the event, AL DÍA will honor Hispanic leaders in government, healthcare, education, corporate management and the nonprofit sector.

The honorees are:

• Judge L. Felipe Restrepo, U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit
• Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University-Camden, founder and board chair of the LEAP Academy
• Alba Martinez, Principal and Head of Retail Services at Vanguard
• Peter Gonzales, President and CEO of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
• Dr. Jose Russo, Director of Fox Chase Breast Cancer Research Lab

The awardees were selected by an advisory board composed of influential leaders from throughout the city, including past Hispanic Heritage Award recipients. The board was co-chaired by Judge Nelson Diaz and Peter Longstreth, President of the Philadelphia Consular Corps Association and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Uruguay.

The luncheon and ceremony will take place at the Union League of Philadelphia, located at 140 S. Broad St., where Monica Malpass of 6abc Action News will serve as emcee.

After the five honorees were determined by the board, AL DÍA News Publisher and CEO Hernán Guaracao spoke of the significance of Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Hispanic Heritage Month is important because it celebrates not so much our past — as immigrants or descendant of immigrants from a myriad of nations from the Spanish-speaking world — but, more importantly, our present, and also our future, as part of the common American experience,” Guaracao said.

AL DÍA would like to congratulate the honorees, as well as thank the members of the advisory board* for their participation: 

• A. Bruce Crawley
• Antonia Villarruel
• Bernie Prazenica
• Bill Vasquez
• Donna Farrell
• Dr. Daniel Schidlow
• Dr. Donald Generals
• Jack Ludmir
• James F. Dever
• John Grady
• Juan López
• Karla Narvaez-Hurley
• Marcia Bronstein
• Meryl Levitz
• Mike Innocenzo
• Pat DeCarlo
• Pedro Rivera
• Priscilla Jimenez
• Rev. Peter Donohue
• Romy Diaz
• Varsovia Fernandez
• Sharon López

*As of July 16, 2018