Nominees for President

I accepted the nomination to serve as acting President with the condition that HHS-HEO must conduct an open and transparent election process for a new HHS-HEO board to be in place no later than March 31, 2013. Elections are under way and there should be a new HHS-HEO board by the agreed deadline.HHS-HEO is now more active than it’s been in several years! Since my tenure as acting President, HHS-HEO has conducted 7 meetings to address the election processes and to develop strategies for revamping the organization to regain its visibility across the Department. In addition, HHS-HEO re-established a working relationship with the HHS- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration-Office of Human Resources (ASA/OHR). HHS-HEO conducted official meetings with ASA/OHR on January 30 and February 13, 2013. Finally, I have represented HHS-HEO at social gatherings of HHS employees were many Hispanics/Latinos in HHS not knowing of HHS-HEO are now joining as members thanks to my outreach efforts. It has been a great honor to serve as the HHS-HEO acting President for the last two months and I’m confident the new HHS-HEO board will take advantage of the team work generated during that time! I have been ask by colleagues to consider to nominate myself as President for HHS-HEO, and it with humbleness I present for HHS-HEO members’ consideration the following five Goals and Objectives to accomplish if elected as President for HHS-HEO:I. Make HHS-HEO THE premier HHS Latino Affinity group. Build and strengthen HEO through membership revitalization by,
A. Create pathways for new membership through drives, town hall meetings, social events, etc.
B. Expand the reach of HHS-HEO to all Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) across HHS. The HEO constitution allows for all members of the various Hispanic Employee Organizations to join HHS-HEO. Therefore, as President I intend to make a concerted systemic effort to connect with all Hispanic Employee Organizations at HHS Operating Divisions for their representation at HHS-HEO.II. Make of HHS-HEO the go-to group for HHS Leadership and the HHS Office of Human Resources for HEO to be the strategic partner in the implementation of recommendations of the Hispanic Council on Federal Employment of the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) .
• The establishment of the OPM Hispanic Council on Federal Employment in February 11, 2011 was an unprecedented step recognizing the gap in Hispanic representation in the Federal Workforce. The Hispanic Council on Federal Employment ( HCFE) operates under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). In my present position at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health I manage a committee that operates under the FACA; therefore, with me as President, HEO will have an attorney who understands FACA and facilitate the interaction with the HCFE which is comprised of Federal executives and individuals representing national Hispanic organizations that have experience working on issues related to the employment of members of the Hispanic community.
• The Eleventh Annual Report on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government pursuant to Executive Order 13171 illustrates the representation gap of Hispanics in the Federal Government. According to the 2012 OPM report, Hispanics made up just 3.2 percent of the permanent federal workforce at our Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), compared to 13.9 percent in the private healthcare and human services sector, a 10.7 point gap. This unacceptable figure MUST change and given the demographic changes in our Nation is living the gap is projected to increase.
• The current underrepresentation of Hispanics in HHS’ workforce is ALARMING; particularly when the HHS Hispanic workforce representation has decreased in the last 4 years. The root-causes of the alarming problem are recruitment and retention of Hispanics at HHS. To this end, if elected President for HHS-HEO one of my goals is establish HHS-HEO as a strategic partner in the execution of the recommendations of the HCFE at HHS.
As HHS-HEO President, I will make a priority to ensure HCFE’s recommendations are executed at HHS, including, but not limited to:
1. OPM to develop policies to hold agency officials accountable for removing any identified barriers to the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement of Hispanics in their workplaces.
2. The Federal Hispanic Accountability Model will be shared with the President’s Management Council and the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council. OPM will work with the CHCO Council to form a work group that will make sure the CHCOs in every Federal agency are held accountable, consistent with the merit system principles, for fashioning recruitment plans that are inclusive of Hispanics and for addressing any identified barriers to Hispanic employment.
3. OPM plans to revitalize and enhance the Hispanic Employment Program Manager (HEPM) role and work with the National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers. Establish clear guidelines for those who hold the HEPM positions, OPM created standard position descriptions at high grade levels like GS-13 and GS-14.
4. OPM will also continue to participate in formalized training programs to assist
GS-15s who have an interest in the SES and with agencies and nonprofits to ensure that such training programs are inclusive.
5. OPM will continue to provide guidance to agencies on developing management performance standards that appropriately encompass agency diversity
and inclusion efforts, consistent with merit system principles.

• Making HHS-HEO an strategic partner in the implementation of HCFE recommendations will accomplish the following objectives for HHS-HEO:
a. Establish a relationship with the HCFE that will serve as leverage to ensure HHS agency officials continue to be held accountable for removing any identified barriers to the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement of Hispanics in HHS.
b. Explore innovative ideas supporting recruitment, hiring, retention, training and promotion of Hispanics;
c. Engage with other Hispanic Organizations in other Departments that have experience in working recruitment and retention employment issues affecting Hispanic communities.

III. Strengthen the working relationship between HHS-HEO and the HHS/ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration-Office of Human Resources (ASA/OHR) for the execution of Executive Order 13583 – establishing a coordinated government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the Federal workforce.
• Executive order 13583 established the ‘2011 Government-wide Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan’, which calls for executive agencies, including HHS, to “develop and implement a more comprehensive, integrated and strategic focus on diversity and inclusion as a key component of the human resources strategies.”
• The government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion can assist HHS in the development of workforce that is drawn from all segments of American society and workplace culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness to enable employees to contribute to their full potential and further retention.
• As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) moves forward from rule -making to implementation, the American people, including the 52 millions of Hispanic origin, are looking at HHS for leadership in the implementation of the ACA. The Government-wide initiative grants the authority and the opportunity for HHS to develop structures and strategies to equip HHS leaders with the ability to manage diversity; be accountable; measure results; refine approaches on the basis of such data; and engender a culture of inclusion.

A strengthen relationship with ASA/OHR will allow HHS-HEO to
a. Assist in the development of diversity and inclusion measures to track agency efforts and provide mechanisms for refining the HHS-specific diversity and inclusion plan
b. Include HHS-HEO as stakeholder in the soon to be established HHS Diversity and Inclusion Council.

IV. Establish strategic partnership with National Hispanic Organizations, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools for the identification of talented Hispanics to consider applying for employment and internships, and post-doctoral positions across the Department
• In my eight years in the Department I have managed national and international strategic partnerships, thus if elected President I intend to establish new partnerships for the recruitment of talented Hispanics at HHS.

V. Serve as a national, local and community spokesperson, facilitator and advocate to the U.S. Hispanic community and HHS Hispanic employees and the broader HHS workforce.
• As a trained attorney and former Ombudsman for the NIH, I have the necessary skills to successfully serve as a spokesperson, facilitator and advocate to articulate and advise the effective execution of HHS-HEO’s mission.

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