On Tuesday, April 23 East Stroudsburg University hosted a Women of Excellence Leadership Dinner. The event was sponsored by the university’s Women of Color Imitative, ESU MANA, and the ESU Collegiate Chapter of NCNW.
Amy Hinojosa, president and CEO of MANA, a National Latina Organization, and its sister organization MANA Action Fund, gave the keynote presentation “Respect Me First, Like Me Later: Understanding Your Power as a Professional Woman.” MANA focuses on strengthening Latina women and girls through mentoring, education, and advocacy. The signature MANA Hermanitas® program is the only national mentoring program specifically designed for Latina youth.
Hinojosa has served in different capacities throughout the MANA organization, starting in 2007, including director of national programs, vice president of leadership initiatives, and executive director. Prior to returning to MANA in 2013, she served as executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP), NAHP Media LLC, and the National Hispanic Press Foundation (NHPF), based in Washington, DC.
Hinojosa has extensive experience working on local and national grassroots campaigns targeted at mobilizing voices and actions in Hispanic communities across the country. Community education and engagement have been central to her work, with a particular emphasis on youth. As a representative of MANA, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), HTTP – The National Latino Voice in Tech & Telecommunications Policy, as secretary of LIDERAMOS, and chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). Hinojosa has been a LATINO Magazine, Huffington Post and Medium contributor and writes about issues impacting Latinas. She has been a featured speaker at SXSW, The Aspen Institute, on Comcast Newsmakers, and at conferences nationwide.
Hinojosa has received the 2019 Humanity of Connection Award, 2021 Outstanding Community Partner Award from the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement. She was named one of the 2022 Social Impact Women to Watch by NonprofitHR, and received a 2023 Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.