SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
University of Nevada, Reno Professor Emma Sepulveda Pulvirenti will be one of two Hispanic women honored tomorrow evening at the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s Mujer Awards Gala in Albuquerque.
As the premier executive leadership organization preparing Latinas for positions of national and international influence, the Institute pays tribute through its Mujer Awards to the achievements and contributions of exceptional Hispanic women who have served their communities. Sepulveda will receive the Regional Mujer Award.
“I am appreciative to be one of only two Latinas in the country to receive such recognition for the work that I have done on behalf of the Latino community,” Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda was born in Argentina, migrated to Chile, and then moved to the United States in 1974.
She was the first Latina to become full professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, of which she is also an alumna. She has authored or co-authored 22 books and is director of the University’s Latino Center.
Sepulveda has dedicated much of her work to educating non-Latino communities about the strengths and values of Latinos and immigrants who live in the United States. In 1995, she founded Latinos for Political Education, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering Latinos through voter registration, voter education and get-out-the-vote programs.
“Professor Sepulveda has touched diverse communities throughout the world through her human rights activism and academic scholarship,” said Heather Hardy, Nevada’s College of Liberal Arts dean. “The Mujer award is a well-deserved honor and reflects the value of her work on a national and global level.”
