AZHCC President & CEO:

Mónica S. Villalobos, Ed.D, President & CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

 

Event EMCEE:

Allison Rodriguez, Journalist & Anchor, Morning Newscast, Today in AZ, 12News

Allison Rodriguez is a multi-skilled journalist and anchor of 12News morning newscast Today in AZ. She started her career as an anchor and reporter in Yuma, AZ in 2011, where she covered stories across international and state lines. It’s also where she met her husband, Kevin. She moved to Phoenix in 2013 where she joined a local news station. Mornings have been in Allison’s blood for much of her career. She was the weekend morning anchor when she first arrived in Phoenix and later reported and anchored weekdays. In 2019, after getting married, Allison took a short break from the Valley of the sun and moved to the Bay Area. During her time reporting and anchoring there, she covered some of the biggest stories of that time, including the PG&E power shut offs and wildfires. But Arizona called her back. Allison returned to Arizona just before the pandemic to continue covering communities up and down our state in early 2020, from the Navajo Nation to the Mexico border. Allison was born and raised in Chicago with her three siblings. She attended Columbia College Chicago, majoring in Journalism. She and her husband now consider the Valley home and she’s working to get her whole family out here. Arizona is where she was when the Chicago curse was lifted, and the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.She joined 12News in 2023 in part because it’s incredible legacy but also its commitment to community journalism. She loves helping people jump-start their day. You can catch her Monday through Friday on 12News 4:26 am to 7 am and streaming on 12plus at 7 am

 

Spotlight Speakers:

 

Millie Carrasquillo, Chief Research Officer, LatinUS Beauty

Millie Carrasquillo is a globally recognized leader and innovator in Hispanic market research, with over 30 years of groundbreaking experience in Spanish-language media and multicultural audience insights. As the Chief Research Officer at LatinUs Beauty, a pioneering hair care and entertainment company founded in 2017, Millie has been at the forefront of driving research-driven strategies that empower Latinas in the U.S. Millie’s illustrious career includes senior leadership roles at Telemundo and Univision, where she redefined the way Hispanic and multicultural audiences are measured. Her work with Nielsen, MRI, and Simmons led to the creation of the Nielsen Hispanic Television Index (NHTI), a game-changing ratings service that provided Spanish-language networks with the tools to secure significant advertising investments. As the founder and CEO of Millie C Consultancy, Millie provides strategic advisory services in Hispanic marketplace insights and marketing strategy, earning a reputation one of the foremost authorities on the Hispanic consumer. Millie serves on the board of Screen Engine/ASI and contributed to Extraordinary Latinas Volume II (2023). She also serves as Finance Chair for the Big League School for Girls in the South Bronx, reflecting on her commitment to giving back to her community.

 

Francisca Antman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Economics, University of Colorado Boulder

Francisca Antman is Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado Boulder, faculty affiliate in the Population Program at the CU Population Center, and Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).She is a development and labor economist with special interests in international migration and human capital investments as well as the allocation of resources within households and families. Her work has appeared in many top academic journals, and she is a past President of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE). She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University and B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.