Ramona Romero
Washington, D.C. – The Hispanic National Bar Association has named Ramona Romero, corporate counsel for DuPont, as president for 2008-2009.
Romero is the 35th president of the HNBA, and the sixth woman to serve in the top post since the organization was founded in 1972, a press release said.
The Hispanic National Bar Association is a not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants and law students in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.
The organization promotes non-partisan advocacy on policy issues relevant to Hispanic lawyers and the Latino community and encourages Latino students to choose a career in the law and promotes their advancement within the profession once they graduate and start practicing.
New officers and board members were sworn in Sept. 6 at the HNBA annual convention in Los Angeles.
Romero is a former president of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia and co-founder and director of the Dominican American National Roundtable. She is currently corporate counsel for Logistics & Energy at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in Wilmington, Del. She received a bachelor's degree from Barnard College, Columbia University, in 1985 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988.
"I am delighted and deeply privileged to carry on the legacy of service and excellence in the HNBA," Romero said in a press release.
"Together with my distinguished colleagues on the Board, I will work to promote the advancement of Latinos in all segments of the Legal profession. We will advocate on policy issues relevant to Hispanic lawyers and the Latino community and lobby for the appointment of Hispanic lawyers to senior federal executive positions and to the federal bench. In this pivotal election year, the HNBA is uniquely poised to advocate for Hispanic appointments, including the nomination of a Hispanic to the U. S. Supreme Court."
Romero received the Lucero Award from the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in 2007 and was recognized by Hispanic Business as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.
"Ramona Romero possesses the astute insight and passion required to take this organization to the next level," said Victor Marquez, HNBA immediate past president.
Liz Lopez, the HNBA's new vice president of External Affairs and former Regional President for D.C., Maryland and Virginia noted that "Ramona is very much committed to advocating for diversity, mentoring Latino law students and young lawyers, developing meaningful relationships with partnering bar associations, and providing the necessary support and resources to the HNBA's growing membership."
The newly elected president of Region XII, which encompasses Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, is Aaron Ramirez of Dallas.
Ramirez is a partner of Martinez, Ramirez, Siewczynski PLLC, according to the firm's Web site. He is a former partner of Jackson Lewis LLP and the served in the Office of the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor.
He is president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors for the Dallas Bar Association and is a member of Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where he serves on the Chamber's By-Laws Committee and Procurement Committee.
The Web site states that Ramirez is a Houston native who speaks Spanish and strong ties to Dallas' Hispanic business and professional communities. He focuses on Spanish speaking individuals, Hispanic-owned companies, as well as businesses with large complements of Hispanic employees.
For more information on the Hispanic National Bar Association, visit http://www.hnba.com.