By: Jennifer I. Rodríguez, President and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
At the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GPHCC), we are committed to helping develop, promote and advocate for Hispanic businesses in the region. One of the ways we do that is through our Professional Mentoring Network (PMN), which was created to increase the number of Hispanics in management and leadership positions, as well as help reduce high school dropout rates among Latinos.
The PMN has been promoting career development, leadership and civic engagement within the Latino community since 2007 by connecting executives with Latino high school youth for mentoring opportunities. The program also provides executives with exposure to the workforce and leadership of the future.
Every year, our PMN coordinator works with our PMN advisory board to develop and implement a strategy and plan for the year, which includes professional development classes at Comcast University, our annual Youth Summit, fundraising efforts for scholarships, youth shadowing days and mixers for young professionals.
The support of partners like Comcast, which recently provided a $50,000 grant for the PMN program, is critical to continuing our work.
The Latino community is growing fast. Here at the GPHCC, we see the PMN program at work every day, helping to develop an “ecosystem” that supports our mission. By identifying and helping young Latino professionals, we are nurturing our emerging leaders who – thanks in part to the PMN program – will grow and become successful in their careers and in turn give back to the Latino small business community.
