Gov. Cooper announces appointees to advisory council on Hispanic, Latino affairs

Gov. Roy Cooper announced appointments to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs on Oct. 6. He appointed 27 individuals to serve two-year terms on the board starting Oct. 1.

The council was established in 2017 under Executive Order No. 23. Its duties, outlined in the order, include providing policy recommendations and advising the governor on issues specific to the Latino community in North Carolina. 

Each appointed member is a leader of the Hispanic or Latino community who has worked with the community in N.C. in different sectors — such as language access, immigration and health equity.

Cristina España, the N.C. Department of Administration deputy director of diversity, equity and inclusion, said she envisions the council acting as a back-and-forth conversation between the governor and the Latino community. She said she is looking forward to having more active interaction.

España also said the council includes representation from many communities, including Afro-Latino and Latin American Indigenous communities. She added that the council also has different levels of leadership. 

“Some of them will be well recognized and have 20-plus years doing the work, and then you'll have new leadership,” she said.“So it's both ways — recognizing those that have the wisdom, but at the same time, building new leadership.”

El Centro Hispano is an organization that represents and advocates for the Latino community in Durham, Wake, Orange and neighboring counties. 

In an email, the organization said they expect the new members will accurately advise the governor so he and his team can better address the needs of the community and push toward equal opportunity for its members regardless of their status.

Chief operating officer for El Centro Hispano and Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Erik Valera was reappointed to the council. He said in an email that, as the state grows, inclusive representation becomes more vital to drive progress forward.

Yesenia Pedro Vicente, the assistant director of student access, success and engagement of UNC’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, was also appointed to the council. As the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, she said she wants to focus on making public documents accessible in Spanish.

“It's a skill. I mean, it is a blessing to be bilingual. It also brings responsibility. I think about that, how can I make sure that I use this gift to help others?” she said.

Pedro Vicente converted La Familia, previously an affinity group for Latino students, into the Latine Graduate and Professional Student Association, a student-run organization that provides a community for UNC students who identify as Hispanic and Latino.

Carrboro Town Council member Eliazar Posada, the first openly LGBTQ+ Latino elected official in North Carolina, was also appointed to the governor's council. He is one of the individuals who founded Orgullo Latinx Pride, a pride festival in Carrboro for the Latino community.

Lizette Cruz Watko is the founder and executive director of Diamante Arts & Cultural Center and another council appointee. Cruz Watko said the center tries to give voice to and build economic development for Latino artists. 

“In our community, we see arts and culture every day, but we don't think of it as valuable,” she said. “And one of the things that I want people to know is that there is value in arts and culture.”

Director of Durham Public Schools' Multilingual Resource Center Pablo Friedmann, an appointee to the council, said he hopes to address issues with the N.C. Residency Determination Service. He said the Service is incorrectly classifying children of immigrants as out-of-state residents.

Another appointee, Tiffany Oliva, the City of Winston-Salem's director of intergovernmental affairs and strategic initiatives, said being appointed is not about the accolades each individual holds. 

Rather, she said it is about improving the well-being and advancing the interests of the Latino community.

“And it is about the Hispanic/Latino community, but it's about the greater community as a whole,” she said.

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