Members can serve the HBA through any of the following committees. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please email us at committees@hbadc.org.
Annual Awards Event: Plan the HBA-DC’s Equal Justice Awards reception, and solicit nominations for (and select) the recipient of the awards.
Co-Chairs - Jaime Areizaga-Soto & Fernando Rivero
Communications: Coordinate the publication of the HBA-DC newsletter. Develop and maintain HBA-DC brochures and templates for flyers. Develop and maintain the HBA-DC website, Facebook, and LinkedIn web pages.
Michael P. Gonzalez, Chair
Laura Zapiain Chester, Board Liaison
Evaluate the qualifications of candidates for appointments who request the HBADC’s endorsement. Maintain appropriate questionnaires for candidates, conduct due diligence on candidates, hold personal interview, and vote on recommendation to the Board. Whenever possible, identify potential Hispanic candidates for vacant positions and encourage them to apply.
Alberto Rivera Fournier, Co-Chair
Sergio Oehninger, Co-Chair
Holli Feichko, Board Liaison
Elections: Publish Elections Meeting date, call for nominations, and distribute candidate statements to membership. Prepare, distribute, and count ballots at the Annual Election Meeting; inform the membership of the election results.
Co-Chairs - Jaime Areizaga-Soto & Fernando Rivero
Legislative and Policy Issues: Develop and implement initiatives relating to local and national legislative and judicial processes. Inform the HBA-DC Board and membership regarding developments in policy, law and practices, and recommend HBA-DC responses to such developments, including public education and press campaigns.
Eissa Villasenor, Chair
Ruben Reyna, Vice-Chair
Fernando Rivero, Board Liaison
Membership: Develop and implement membership services and initiatives, including membership surveys and drives.
Carolina Ramallo, Chair
Marina Torres, Board Liaison
Professional Development: Identify and publicize employment and career opportunities available to the HBA-DC membership. Organize, sponsor, or participate various professional development events, including legal education seminars, job fairs, panel events on legal or policy issues.
Patrick Kellerman, Chair
Edgar Class, Board Liaison
Public Service: Develop, coordinate, and implement HBA-DC’s outreach effort to the D.C. Hispanic community; educate the community about its legal rights and responsibilities. Work with and through existing community organizations and governmental agencies serving Hispanics in the D.C. area to the extent possible.
Diana Godoy, Co-Chair
Hina Rodriguez, Co-Chair
Carlos Siso, Board Liaison
Social and Special Events: Develop and coordinate social and other special events to provide members with the opportunity to socialize and/or network with each other and with members of other professional organizations.
Pilar Velasques, Chair
Leila Levi, Board Liaison
Student Affairs: Develop and coordinate HBA-DC services for its law student members. Coordinate the mentor/mentee program co-sponsored by the HBA-DC and Arnold & Porter.
Nelly Montenegro, Chair
Marianela Peralta, Joint Clerkship Conference Chair
Geovanny Martinez , Board Liaison
Employer Outreach & Task Force on Advancement of Latinos in the Legal Profession - Ad hoc
The Employer Outreach Committee conducts survey of DC legal employers to solicit information about their diversity programs and practices and then evaluate each employer’s engagement in efforts to meet the needs of Hispanic attorneys. Help determine recipient of HBA-DC's Employer Diversity Award, which recognizes the employer that has shown a commitment and success rate in recruiting and retaining Hispanic professionals and has served as a role model for other legal employers who are looking to implement and improve diversity in the workplace.
Iris Gonzalez, Chair
The Task Force on Advancement of Latinos in the Legal Profession aims to provide HBA-DC members with the tools they need to obtain employment and advance their careers in today's rapidly transforming legal profession. To do this, the Task Force will survey members about their current and desired employment situation. The Task Force also proposes to organize a facilitated summit whereby law firm partners, general counsel members, and HBA-DC members can discuss how Latino attorneys can be recruited, retained, and advanced in the legal profession. The Task Force will work with the HBA-DC Professional Development committee, which is charged with organizing seminars and events that assist members develop their substantive skills.
Raquel Tamez & Maria Mendoza, Chairs
Arturo Caraballo
Guillermo Christensen
Edgar Class
Holli Feichko
Iris Gonzales
Maria Holleran Rivera
Liz Lopez
Diego Marquez
Zorayda Moreira-Smith
Sergio F. Oehninger
Marianela Peralta
Louis Ramos
Juan Sempertegui
Jim Taronji
Marina Torres
Brandon Roman
HBA-DC LEGACY PROJECT
As the HBA-DC commemorates its 35th anniversary, we are launching the HBA-DC Legacy Project. We will be re-connecting with and gathering information from all 35 HBA-DC boards of directors in an effort to promote the continued engagement of the organization's prior leadership as well as create a digital archive of the rich history of the organization.
