It is an honor to volunteer for this organization! I look forward to continue this journey with all of you and make of 2008 one of the best years for ALPFA Seattle. www.hbsauw.com). Luis Pedro Martinez Your VP. S U M M E R 2007 By Luis Martinez, ALPFA Seattle VP I N T H I S I S S U E : Member Spotlight: Succeeding As a Young First Annual ALPFA Seattle The 2008 Kick-Off Event: ALPFA Seattle: Setting the From Our Sponsor’s Desk: Women of ALPFA - An Student Summit
SU MM ER 2007 La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway WINT ER 2008 VOLUM E 2, N 1 IN THIS ISSUE : ALPFA Seattle: Setting the Latino Professional in the Northwest Member Spotlight: Roberta Valentine First Annual ALPFA Seattle Women of ALPFA - An Inspiring Night! Succeeding As a Young Professional: The 2007 Student Summit From Our Sponsor’s Desk: New Year’s Money Resolutions The 2008 Kick-Off Event: The Perfect Start! www.hbsauw.com ). In addition, I am pleased to announce stronger partnerships with Microsoft and Prudential Financial. Microsoft will provide us with key technology to help us achieve our operational-enhancement goals. They will also establish a formal link with finance internship opportunities, such as the rotational program, for our student members. On the professional side, Microsoft will continue providing key industry talks, and networking events. Prudential continues to be a great supporter of the Women of ALPFA program, developing our chapter leaders, and providing networking opportunities for our members. They have sponsored our first Women of ALPFA event, our first Corporate Partner Reception and the 2008 Annual Kick-Off. They are also great supporters of student initiatives. It is an honor to volunteer for this organization! I look forward to continue this journey with all of you and make of 2008 one of the best years for ALPFA Seattle. Your VP. Luis Pedro Martinez By Luis Martinez, ALPFA Seattle VP As we have kicked-off our 2008 calendar year, I am very excited to co-lead this organization with Maria Villa and the excellent board that comprises ALPFA Seattle. As Maria mentioned in our previous newsletter, 2007 was an excellent year in which ALPFA Seattle continues setting foot into local- corporations, as well as delivering its members with key trainings and social events which enhance our professional network. This is a key year for ALPFA Seattle, as the board is committed to continuing streamlining internal operations, as well as external communications, in order to provide you with the best professional opportunity available! Our first move towards this goal occurred at the end of November, when we grouped as a board and retreated to Leavenworth, WA, to architect our commitments as well as our strategy for this year. One of the action items to improve our communications will be reflected with our new website, which will be live in the upcoming months. It will have notorious changes such as an improved user interface, photo and video galleries, and membership services (renewals, contacts, enhanced registration forms, etc.) We are excited to bring José Vasquez as our dedicated webmaster. José is currently pursuing a career in business administration at the University of Washington, and he serves as the webmaster of our student-body partner, the Hispanic Business Students Association, (HBSA- ALPFA Seattle: Setting The Latino Professional Standard in the Northwest La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway WINT ER 2008 VOLUM E 2, N 1
Transcript
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
www.hbsauw.com). In addition, I am pleased to announce stronger partnerships with Microsoft and Prudential Financial. Microsoft will provide us with key technology to help us achieve our operational-enhancement goals. They will also establish a formal link with finance internship opportunities, such as the rotational program, for our student members. On the professional side, Microsoft will continue providing key industry talks, and networking events. Prudential continues to be a great supporter of the Women of ALPFA program, developing our chapter leaders, and providing networking opportunities for our members. They have sponsored our first Women of ALPFA event, our first Corporate Partner Reception and the 2008 Annual Kick-Off. They are also great supporters of student initiatives. It is an honor to volunteer for this organization! I look forward to continue this journey with all of you and make of 2008 one of the best years for ALPFA Seattle. Your VP. Luis Pedro Martinez
By Luis Martinez, ALPFA Seattle VP
As we have kicked-off our 2008 calendar year, I am very excited to co-lead this organization with Maria Villa and the excellent board that comprises ALPFA Seattle. As Maria mentioned in our previous newsletter, 2007 was an excellent year in which ALPFA Seattle continues setting foot into local-corporations, as well as delivering its members with key trainings and social events which enhance our professional network. This is a key year for ALPFA Seattle, as the board is committed to continuing streamlining internal operations, as well as external communications, in order to provide you with the best professional opportunity available! Our first move towards this goal occurred at the end of November, when we grouped as a board and retreated to Leavenworth, WA, to architect our commitments as well as our strategy for this year. One of the action items to improve our communications will be reflected with our new website, which will be live in the upcoming months. It will have notorious changes such as an improved user interface, photo and video galleries, and membership services (renewals, contacts, enhanced registration forms, etc.) We are excited to bring José Vasquez as our dedicated webmaster. José is currently pursuing a career in business administration at the University of Washington, and he serves as the webmaster of our student-body partner, the Hispanic Business Students Association, (HBSA-
ALPFA Seattle: Setting The Latino
Professional Standard in the Northwest
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
Member Spotlight: Roberta Valentine
By Nancy Vargas, Membership Committee Co-Chair It is my pleasure to feature Roberta Valentine as spotlight member for our quarterly newsletter – winter 2008. Roberta’s involvement with ALPFA began in March 2005 when the Seattle Chapter was in its initial formation stages. She was present at the first kickoff and soon became a major force in the chapter, in the Events Planning Committee, and in the strong relationship built between ALPFA Seattle and Weyerhaeuser Company. Since its inception as a chapter, Roberta always showed a strong dedication to ALPFA Seattle. Her strong belief in the organization as a whole as well as her belief in what the local chapter was trying to accomplish is what inspired me and several other Weyerhaeuser employees to become active members by supporting events, joining committees, and establishing a presence on the ALPFA Seattle Board. She unconditionally gave her time to the chapter by playing a proactive role on a committee that is and was the heart of the organization (i.e., Events Planning) and was instrumental in developing event ideas, establishing contacts, and in securing venues for chapter events.
As a recruiter for Weyerhaeuser, Roberta championed efforts to increase diversity awareness throughout the company. She helped recruit minority talent into positions across the entire Corporate Staff function (Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, R&D, etc., etc.), she became the point of contact for both ALPFA and NABA and did more than her role required her to do so, she brought events to our campus and introduced members of our senior management team to potential recruits, and she played a key role in implementing diversity efforts into hiring practices. As a result of her ongoing drive and commitment, Roberta was recognized by the company’s CEO for going above and beyond the call of duty. Roberta is a catalyst for change and benefits any organization she is a part of. She brings people together with common goals and values, she energizes them, she takes a leadership role, and she’s quick to offer new ways of solving problems. Because of this and more, I’d like to personally thank and acknowledge Roberta Valentine for her numerous contributions to ALPFA, NABA, and to Weyerhaeuser!
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
By Jenny Guevara, Public Relations Co-chair and Maria Villa, President At the top of the Space Needle, the ALPFA Seattle chapter hosted its first Women of ALPFA event on Thursday, October 25, 2007. Over 60 guests enjoyed the magic view of the city, the selected theme of the night, and the exquisite selection of food and drinks catered by the Space Needle. The evening began with a networking reception and followed by welcome remarks from the chapter president, Maria O. Villa and the introduction of the mistress of ceremonies, Lourdes Sampera, Loan Officer at Flagstar Bank & Home Lending. Lourdes has over 20 years of experience in International business and real state and is a Latina role model in the community. Alicia Adams, Co-chair for the Event Planning Committee, gave a background on the Women of ALPA program. "The purpose for this program is to create opportunities for professional Latinas and empower Latinas through leadership skills, training, mentoring and career advancement." Joneil Custodio, West Region Relationship Manager for Prudential, explained the importance of addressing women initiatives and shared with us Prudential's commitment to the Women of ALPFA program, locally and nationally.
Keynote speaker Patty Anglin, Ethics and Compliance Specialist at Weyerhaeuser, addressed the theme for the evening "Inspiring Leadership through Courage, Values and Ethics." She spoke on the importance of leading by example and being ethical in your everyday life." It is said that the best leaders show both their values and their ethics in their relationship style and actions. Strong ethical leadership influences and shapes the culture of an organization. The headline-making corporate scandals of the recent past highlighted the need for ethical decision making at all levels." Special thanks to our Keynote speaker, Prudential Financial for sponsoring this event, Space Needle for donating the venue and the ALPFA Seattle board for their hard work and dedication.
First Annual ALPFA Seattle Women of ALPFA Event - An Inspiring Night!
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
Succeeding As a Young Professional:
The 2007 Student Summit By Jenny Guevara, Public Relations Co-Chair and Maria Villa, President On October 13th, 2007, the ALPFA Seattle Chapter hosted its annual student summit: ‘Succeeding as a Young Professional’ which brought together over 140 attendees, including students from both Washington and Oregon universities and community colleges. The summit took place at the Michael G. Foster School of Business in the University of Washington campus. Genaro Perez Jr., ALPFA North Regional Director, and also Director of Client Service at Resources Global Professionals, was the key-note speaker for the event. Genaro opened the summit and delighted the audience with his energy, and unique way of delivering his message on the importance of standing out from the crowd in order to succeed as a young professional. The summit offered 3 workshops as follows:
Selling Yourself in Today's Marketplace
- Sponsored by Microsoft, Presented by Alejandro Cabrera Global Advertising Product Manager and Mauricio Cuevas Finance Manager, Online Services Division.
The power of Making Connections - Sponsored by Prudential Financial, Presented by Joneil Custodio, West Coast Diversity Local Relationship Manager.
Young Professionals...Business Beyond the Books - Sponsored by ALPFA, Presented by Tatiana Deras, Financial Analyst, Morgan Stanley, Robert Miller, Compliance Program Manager, Microsoft, and Jesse Sanchez, Associate, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Once sessions finalized, students had the opportunities to participate in the career fair where about 10 national and international companies were present, such as Weyerhaeuser, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, INROADS, , and State Farm Insurance. The Student Outreach Committee ran a survey to get participants feedback. We found that all workshops met participant’s expectations. The workshop that students liked the most was the “Selling Yourself in Today’s Marketplace” by Microsoft, this presentation was very effective, and in particular presenters kept the audience’s attention throughout the presentation by making good eye contact and being funny and energetic.
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
‘It is critical to get timely feedback from the participants once the event is concluded, this will help us to plan in advance future events and meet expectations of our current and potential members’ Special thanks to Yaneth Gonzalez, Student Outreach Co-chair, who put tremendous efforts to make this event a successful one. Special thanks to lead sponsors of the event KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prudential Financial, and Microsoft.
This summit has been honored to be an example model for other ALPFA chapters.
S U M M E R 2 0 0 7
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
From Our Sponsor’s Desk: New Year’s Money Resolutions
By Benjamin Bear, Prudential Financial After the holiday celebrations are over, it’s time to refocus on goals for the coming year And while resolutions to lose weight, exercise more or give up caffeine are all worthwhile, it’s the financial resolutions that you make and keep this year that can really make a difference come retirement time. Here are six worth implementing:
Get organized. Knowing where your receipts, investment statements and tax returns are is an essential component of your financial plan. Setting up a system now will keep you organized throughout the year. Create separate folders for all of your tax-deductible expenses, your banking and investment statements, insurance claims and pay stubs/W2s. This one simple step will get your financial year off to a good start. Make copies of important documents. In an emergency, you may need to quickly locate critical records such as insurance policies, bank account and credit card numbers. Compile a comprehensive list with account information and contact numbers for all-important accounts. Also make copies of deeds to property, stock and investment statements and other valuable holdings. Put everything in a safe place in your home and keep a copy in a location away from home, such as in a safety deposit box.
Start a plan for getting out of debt. It Figure out which cards (those with the highest rates) to pay off first. There are many good books on the subject, and
depending on how much debt you have, you may want to meet with a financial advisor to develop a specific pay down plan. Also, try to resist the temptation to pay off your credit cards with a home equity loan or line of credit. You'll only be trading an unsecured loan for a secured loan, without getting to the root of your tendency to overspend. Review your 401(k) plan. Or sign up, if you haven’t already done so and your company offers a retirement plan. Many employers offer matching funds – sometimes as much as 50% of your contributions and up to 6% of your salary. That’s free money! If you are already in a plan, now is a good time to review your allocations for the past year to see if you need to make adjustments.
Check your insurance coverage. Did you make home improvements this year? Have a baby? Change jobs? You may want to make changes to your insurance policies to make sure you are adequately covered. If you or your spouse have neglected to purchase life, long-term care or disability insurance, now is the time to meet with a qualified professional to discuss the benefits of these important financial safeguards.
La Nueva Era ALPFA Seattle’s News and Events Gateway
W I N T E R 2 0 0 8 V O L U M E 2 , N 1
I N T H I S I S S U E :
ALPFA Seattle: Setting the
Latino Professional in the
Northwest
Member Spotlight:
Roberta Valentine
First Annual ALPFA Seattle
Women of ALPFA - An
Inspiring Night!
Succeeding As a Young
Professional: The 2007
Student Summit
From Our Sponsor’s Desk:
New Year’s Money
Resolutions
The 2008 Kick-Off Event:
The Perfect Start!
The 2008 Kick-Off Event: The Perfect
Start! By Jorge Cruz, Public Relations Contributor More than 90 Seattle young professionals and College Students gathered on Thursday February 7th to Ibiza Dinner Club to Kick-off the series of networking events the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance & Accounting, the Seattle chapter is to organize throughout 2008. Despite some rain showers and gloomy skies in the earlier part of the week, ALPFA members met and networked with business students representing local universities and other professionals from various industries. ALPFA’s aim to be the leading Latino Professional association dedicated to enhance opportunities for CPA’s, accountants, and finance related professionals was the main reason other leaders in the community were present to discuss their own experience to those new to the Seattle ALPFA Chapter. The networking reception sponsored by Prudential Financial, Microsoft Corporation, and Boeing gathered local high profile individuals such as Noticiero Univision’s Jaime Mendez who spoke with attendees from companies such as WAMU, Plaza Bank and representatives of other Latino associations such as NSHMBA, SHPE, and BHEN.
The 2008 Kick-Off event gave opportunity for ALPFA leaders and members to discuss milestones reached in the past year and how new members from local professionals would contribute to strengthen the projects and mission ALPFA represents and is carrying forward. It also featured the raffle of two IPod shuffles for members and newcomers and following the closing remarks, the evening provided a special time for reminiscing and reconnecting with old friends and new friends in a great venue in downtown Seattle.
