PCC Graduate Receives National Recognition as a Latina Leader

March 26, 2012

Tucson, AZ -- A Pima Community College graduate will be one of only 13 women nationwide recognized as a Latina Leader by the Imagen Foundation at a ceremony March 27 in Washington, D.C.

Liz Rábago received her GED from Pima Community College Adult Education in 2003. She went on to receive an associate’s degree in Business Administration from PCC, and is on track to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix in 2013.

Ms. Rábago is director of women’s economic advancement at YWCA Tucson and has helped organize women’s financial literacy events in English and Spanish for several years in the Tucson community.

"The award truly is an honor because it is recognition that there are no real barriers to advancement other than the ones you place on yourself,” Ms. Rábago says. “If you are determined, you can make anything happen.”

She will be recognized in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the U.S. Senate. Ms. Rábago was nominated by U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva through his membership in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which helped organize the original Latina Leaders event in 2001.

“Each year, [Liz] makes Tucson a better place to live for hundreds of men and women of all backgrounds,” Rep. Grijalva said in a statement announcing Ms. Rábago’s nomination.

Past Latina Leader honorees have included talk show host Cristina Saralegui, civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, CNN and PBS news reporter Maria Hinojosa, and actress America Ferrera. In 2010, the Imagen Foundation, which has organized the event since 2008, began inviting members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to nominate an outstanding Latina from their respective districts to be honored as a Latina Leader.

Founded in 1996, the Imagen Foundation is a resource and conduit for the entertainment industry and the Latino community, and seeks to use its influence to connect Latinos and non-Latinos. Among its initiatives are workshops that reach out to minority- and women-owned small businesses interested in procuring goods and services contracts with major entertainment companies.

CONTACT:
C.J. Karamargin
Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations
(520) 206-4850
ckaramargin@pima.edu