About Us
Multicultural PR veterans Manny Ruiz and Angela Sustaita-Ruiz are the co-publishers of The Hispanic PR Blog, a division of Hispanic Media Trainers, LLC. Below are their biographies.
Manny Ruiz
Co-Publisher, Hispanic PR Blog
Manny Ruiz is co-publisher of the Hispanic PR Blog, the leading marketing trade journal focused on Hispanic public relations and social media, the daddy-in-chief of the bilingual daddy parenting web site PapiBlogger.com and the founder/organizer of the Hispanic PR & Social Media Conference. The three organizations are business units of Hispanic Media Trainers, LLC.
Prior to launching the blog and national tradeshow, Manny was President of Multicultural Markets and Hispanic PR Wire for PR Newswire. Prior to PR Newswire’s acquisition of Hispanic PR Wire, Hispanic Digital Network and LatinClips in 2008, companies he founded, Ruiz was Chairman and CEO of HispaniMark, the parent company of these three businesses.
A media trailblazer, former journalist, award-winning PR professional and dynamic keynote speaker on media trends, Ruiz is often sought after for his expertise on media, PR and public affairs. A longtime member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Ruiz is the immediate past co-chair of PRSA’s national diversity committee and the host/co-founder of the organization’s national monthly podcast “PRSA Diversity Today.” He has also served as a board member of the PRSA Miami Chapter.
Prior to launching Hispanic PR Wire in 2000, Ruiz was a founder and media relations director of the National Hispanic Market Practice of Porter Novelli. While at Porter Novelli, Ruiz played a central role in the success of the Florida anti-teen smoking campaign “truth.” Ruiz spearheaded Florida media relations for the “truth” campaign which for two consecutive years swept all of the PR industry’s most coveted awards including the PRSA Silver Anvil Award of Excellence and the PR Week Health Campaign of the Year.
Before entering the PR profession, Ruiz was a police beat reporter for The Miami Herald. He was part of the editorial team that in 1992 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Community Service for their coverage of Hurricane Andrew. While he was a reporter, Ruiz also shot photographic documentaries in Cuba. His black and white photography from Cuba has earned him three exhibits, two solos and a national award.
Ruiz, a Miamian of Cuban American descent, has a bachelors of arts degree in history from Florida International University.
Angela Sustaita-Ruiz
Co-Publisher, Hispanic PR Blog
Angela is co-publisher of The Hispanic PR Blog and president of Hispanic Media Trainers, LLC, the parent company of the Hispanic PR & Social Media Conference and PapiBlogger.com, the nation’s first bilingual website dedicated to showcasing creative parenting tricks for fathers and mothers of all cultures. A longtime Hispanic public relations and marketing consultant, Angela has provided senior counsel to clients such as Unilever, Burger King, Washington Mutual, Shell, AstraZeneca, Schering-Plough, and the Texas Beef Council, among others wanting to reach diverse audiences.
Prior to consulting, Angela worked in Edelman Multicultural’s New York and Austin offices, where she continuously delivered success for clients such as Kraft Foods, Hershey’s, Unilever, Starbuck’s, the New York International Latino Film Festival, Pfizer, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Schering-Plough, and McKesson. Angela played a leading role with award-winning Hispanic and general market PR campaigns including the 2004 Mercury Silver Award for Client Product Launch: Hershey’s Kisses filled with Caramel, and the 2003 Silver Anvil Award for Marketing Consumer Services – Healthcare: Together Rx.
Prior to joining Edelman, Angela served as International Operations Supervisor for Cinemark, an international motion picture exhibitioner based in Dallas. While at Cinemark, she worked closely with Latin American satellite offices to formulate strategic marketing plans for Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
Angela, a native Texan of Mexican descent, holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Baylor University.
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Hello Manny and Angela,
This is a GREAT idea! Excellent blog design …
Please consider adding a health category — many Hispanics are suffering unnecesarily with diseases such as diabetes.
Sincerely,
Richard James
richardjames13@gmail.com
I look forward to relevant PR that highlights the contributions of Latinos to this great country.
Buena Suerte Manny y Angela. Wish you all the best of luck with the new blog. I’ll add you to my links on http://www.latino-lingo.com.
WC
Congratulations to you both on your new venture. I look forward to staying current by reading your daily blog.
Any chance you might consider creating a category for “Education”, “Personal Finance” and ‘Insurance”?
That would also be helpful to your readers.
Once again, Felicidades!
Hi Manny, congratulations on your blog–it’s great. I’ll be stopping by everyday to see what’s new in the PR world.
Hey Mani,
Cool blog. Keep the hard work. More feedback coming.
Best. Alex.
Excellent blog and about time. I have always appreciated the power of the latino voice in the business world and will definitely keep posted.
Best of luck to both on this great venture.
LULAC Passes Resolution Asking Secretary Hilda Solis to Investigate and Stop its Practice established from the Previous Administration of Purging the Latino Employee Workforce from the Department of Labor
San Francisco, CA – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is launching a campaign to implement a resolution adopted by its recent National Executive Board meeting in Milwaukee regarding allegations of employee discrimination, retaliation, and termination of Dr. Alberto Rocha from federal service by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the manner in which his case has been managed. Dr. Rocha’s efforts to keep his position with OFCCP have been the subject of numerous local and national news releases and Congressional inquiries. Senator Diane Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer and Representatives Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, George Miller, Dennis Cardoza, and Henry Waxman have written letters to the Agency in support of Dr. Rocha.
Dr. Alberto Rocha has been in EEO litigation with Agency since 2002, after successfully competing for the position of Assistant District Director of OFCCP. According to LULAC, Dr. Rocha was asked to relinquish his position as chairman of a national Hispanic advocacy organization (National Image, Inc.) by OFCCP leadership. Dr. Rocha refused, maintaining that the request violated protected personnel practices. As a result, Dr. Rocha has claimed in his litigation that he faced numerous incidents of retaliation by OFCCP over the years and was required to hire an attorney and file EEO complaints to protect his liberties as a federal employee.
According to Dr. Rocha, Department of Labor (DOL) Solicitors initially reached a settlement with him regarding his discrimination and retaliation claims in February of 2007. DOL Solicitors agreed to the terms with the caveat that the settlement required final approval from the National Office of OFCCP. Dr. Rocha alleges that after he had bargained in good faith to try to settle the matter, nearly six weeks later the proposed settlement was cancelled by OFCCP. Dr. Rocha contends that in October of 2007, DOL Solicitors reengaged settlement talks with his attorney, with a new demand of having Dr. Rocha leave the agency. When Dr. Rocha rejected that demand, the agency ceased settlements talks.
Since then, Dr. Rocha’s legal team contend that DOL Solicitors have proposed and submitted another settlement proposal and have requested approval by the OFCCP National Office to engage in another round of settlement talks. However, DOL Solicitors have communicated to Dr. Rocha’s attorney that the OFCCP National Office is not interested in any form of settlement.
LULAC s charging that the Department of Labor is continuing to waste hundreds of hours of at least six (6) DOL senior trial attorneys and its support staff on this subject case. LULAC has also previously accused the prior Department of Labor administration of having been “stacked” with associates of the right-wing Heritage Foundation that were engaged in a systematic purge of minorities and employees who had been effective in combating workplace discrimination and abuse. LULAC contends that the DOL’s continued stonewalling amounts to a cover-up of the prior administration’s hidden agenda.
LULAC is denouncing as “obstinate” the OFCCP leadership’s demand that Dr. Rocha leave the agency as a condition of a settlement and is calling on the OFCCP administration to stop ignoring the advice of DOL Solicitors. LULAC National Vice President for the Far West Angel Luevano, himself a former OFCCP administrator for whom the “Luevano Consent Decree” is named (which governs EEO hiring practices for Federal Employees) is accusing the OFCCP of being severely underrepresented in Latino employees and specifically Latino managers. In addition, LULAC is raising concerns about the waste and abuse of government resources on this case and castigates the poor judgment of OFCCP leadership as affecting the effectiveness and mission of the agency in serving the public sector.
On January 15, 2009, Carol Larsen, Administrative Law Judge for California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board issued a Decision Letter, regarding Dr. Rocha’s right for unemployment benefits, stating that Dr. Rocha “… did not deliberately violate any employer rule or regulation or act in a manner which was in willful disregard of this employer’s interest. He was discharged for reasons other than misconduct connected with his most recent work and is therefore not disqualified under section 1256.” LULAC says that this shows an objective and unbiased finding that Dr. Rocha’s termination was nothing but the escalation of on-going efforts to retaliate against Dr. Rocha because of his opposition to unlawful race and ethnic discrimination in employment at OFCCP.
Angel Luevano, National Vice President states that “LULAC issued numerous letters of concern to the Honorable Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor, United Stated Department of Labor in which the Agency failed to respond to them and has “stonewalled” requests for an investigation on the same concerns from Senator Diane Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Congress Members Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, George Miller, Dennis Cardoza, and Henry Waxman. As the agency responsible for contractor compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws and regulations, OFCCP has a responsibility to be a workplace model for the private sector contractors it oversees and must be held accountable.”
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Hi Angela and Manny,
My name is Wesly Hernandez and I have been a reader of your blog for some time now. I realize that your publication is great at writing about Latino issues that are culturally and socially relevant. I just wanted to write to tell you that I’m helping the NFL reach out to their Hispanic and Latino fans with a contest called Tu Pasion. I know that you cover various latino worldly issues on hispanicprblog.com– would you be interested in posting about Tu Pasion to let your readers know?
The Tu Pasion contest is really easy to enter – all you need to do is submit a picture or video in their NFL environment to the NFL Latino Tu Pasion contest webpage by November 22, 2009:
http://tupasion.nflatino.com/los_mas_recientes.php?pagina=1
After this date a winner will be selected by a panel of judges based on creativity, passion, energy level, and the general image itself. We’ve already had a few entries by some NFL fans– check them out!
http://tupasion.nflatino.com/media_detail.php?id_media=136
http://tupasion.nflatino.com/media_detail.php?id_media=229
http://tupasion.nflatino.com/media_detail.php?id_media=173
The top five finalists will receive a $500 gift card which can be used for any purchase at the NFL’s webstore. Plus, the first prize winner will receive an all expense paid trip to the 2010 ProBowl in South Florida!
If you need any help with your post – or if you have any thoughts about our site – please let me know and I’ll be happy to help out. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon!
All the best,
Wesly Hernandez
MarketingWorks
Wesley, we would be delighted to include something about this contest. Send us a short write up about it from a PR angle explaining all the contest elements, how your marketing it, etc…
Great idea guys. Wish you much success. You should supply me with some business cards and/or come to our networking event that happens quaterly near Bird Road and 72nd Ave. I will deinately forward your website to my great & succesful diva of a friend and award winning wedding planner for Miami, Los Angeles & NewYork. Check out her website at http://www.affairs-remembered.com/. I really think you could do well in the wedding/event world! Dont get lost and remember to give out exhalemassage gift certificates this holiday. Call me!
xoxo…Maribel Yartu
Hello,
I would like to send you a press release which I believe would be of interest to your readers. How do I do that?
Hello, I am a PhD student at the Ohio State University investigating the knowledge and usage of Spanish by Hispanic bilinguals in South Florida. I was born and grew up in Miami, but haven’t lived there for many years, so I am doing this at a distance. I am attempting to conduct my research entirely online through social media, and have a facebook page with a link to a short survey that I am using to collect my data:
http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/#/pages/Spanish-Grammar-Survey/229750451168
South Florida Hispanics or those with friends or family in the area are welcomed to visit the page, take the survey, become a fan, and help spread the word. There is absolutely no marketing or profit motive, nor collection of personal data, email addresses, etc. of any kind. This is purely academic research to learn more about the social factors that influence linguistic competencies. Thanks for your help!
Hi,
I’d like to send you a press release (of Latino/Cultural interest)
Please let me know how to proceed.
Thank you.
Hello and thank you for visiting my blog. I have glanced through your blog and I am now a fan. I look forward to following your continued success.
All the best,
Phil Velez
Thanks Phil. Likewise here. Looking forward to getting to know you. Let me know if we can be of any assistance to you.
So pleased to have stumbled upon your blog! I am now following you on Twitter and have subscribed via Google. Would love to invite you to check out miblogazine.com and stay in touch…
Best of luck!
Johanna Torres
thanks Johanna!
HPR Blog —
Congratulations on all your success.
WiredLatinos.com has posted your article regarding the Ultimate Media Guide.
Great work!
Saludos,
WiredLatinos.com
thanks WiredLatino!
Can we post job openings on your site? If so, what is the cost?
Thanks,
Roberta Maroney
PainePR
Hi Manny,
A while back, we had talked about you co-publishing an article with one of my clients — and I have the piece ready now for your review, but your email address does not seem to be working and I’m wondering how I might be able to get in contact with you?
Let me know!
Thanks!
Lynn
Los felicito a los señores Ruiz, Manny y Angela.
I understand you Angela, worked close to the Hispanic Entertainment.
I was once, in charge of the Florida territory when I was an executive with Columbia Pictures Spanish department in New York. My experience in the Spanish film industry covered more that 40 years, from Distribition to Production and Exhibition. Es una tristeza que el cine mexicano haya desaparecido (yo tuve a mi cargo mas de 20 cines). Hoy escribo para una revista mensual aqui en Houston. Tambien soy mexicano como Ud. Angela y los felicito de todo corazon por toda la labor que han hecho en torno al mundo Hispano y bilingue.
Un saludo cordial,
Jimmy Gillette
Hi! My name is Kim Kipp and I represent a new website- Hispanically Speaking News. Please take a look at us. I believe we are a good fit for your “Hispanic News” link section.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kim Kipp
Hispanically Speaking News
Dear Manny and Angela.
As online PR for Concept Cafe, Alpina US’s Ad Agency, I would like to send you this very interesting information. hoping that you find it interesting too for your readers and followers.
Congrats for your blog!
Lara
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Sofia Vergara Creates Craze for Colombian Dulce de Leche on Jay Leno
Famous TV host and Chef Gordon Ramsey enjoy Sofia’s charisma. Alpina offers special promotion for Dulce de Leche lovers in the US.
Miami, FL. August 12 2010.- When Sofia Vergara came to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last Wednesday, she brought with her a unique gift for the talk show host and his other guest of the evening, Chef Gordon Ramsey: a jar of Alpina Dulce de Leche.
“We were delighted that Sofia Vergara chose Arequipe Alpina to take to the program and we are very pleased that Jay Leno liked it,” said Carlos Ramirez, director and spokesman for the U.S. subsidiary of Alpina. He added: “We had hundreds of visits to Alpina’s website and Alpina’s fan page on Facebook, so we decided to offer a special discount on dulce de leche through our channel on Amazon.com”
Under the concept of “Abraza la Vida, Nutre Lo Que Eres,” Alpina U.S. is meting the growing demand for Colombian products in the US, and delights those who discover the brand and its products every day.
Alpina products are currently available in Publix, Sedano, Wynn Dixie and other stores in Miami, more than 1,000 stores in New York, and throughout the entire United States through Amazon.com.
To learn more, take advantage of special discounts, and watch Sofia Vergara on Jay Leno’s, log on to Facebook.com/AlpinaUS