BCLI Honorary Advisory Board
Honorable Hilda Solis, CA
Honorable Maxine Waters, CA
Mr. Ernest Skinner, DC
Ms. Kerry Kennedy, NY
Honorable Solomon Ortiz, TX
Mr. Michael Toporek, NY
Dr. Raul Diaz, CA

BCLI Board of Directors

John Belizaire, Nextstage, LLC
Former BEA Systems, Belizaire Enterprises, LLC
Mr. Belizaire was formerly the Senior Director for the Customer Success, Customer Advocacy BEA Systems, Inc where he oversaw BEA's Customer outreach initiatives for deepening customer relationships. In this capacity, he was responsible for implementing a number of customer outreach programs including CIO councils, Technology Advisory Groups and Executive Sponsorship. Mr. Belizaire received both Bachelor of Science and Master's degrees in Computer Science from Cornell University. He is a founder of the Cornell chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery. Today, Mr Belizaire is Managing Director for Belizaire Enterprises, LLC

Margo Corona De Ley, Ph.D.
She has over 20 years of experience in teaching (Spanish, French, and English as a second language) at the preschool, elementary, university and adult level. She is the author of published articles on immigrants and immigration policy in the United States and France. She currently serves as Senior Program Officer in the community Development program at the Chicago Community Trust, where she has worked for the past seven years. Dr. De Ley has a Master of Arts in Spanish and a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"BCLI offers programs which are uniquely designed to develop the policy and leadership skills of Latino youth and adults. Our participation not only demonstrate their capacity to engage in the policy making process during their stay in Washington, DC but also continue to contribute their skills and experience acquired in the course of the program in their community after they return home."

Dr. Hy Frankel
A personal and long time friend of Bert Corona, Dr. Frankel has been involved in education, business development, and program evaluation for over 25 years. He is currently based in Los Angeles and works with the Youth Policy Development Institute. He is also a founder of the Bert Corona Charter School for Middle School Students.

Committee Members

Lici Do Canto, US Congressional Committee
Lici Do Canto is Assistant Director of Health Care Financing Policy at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) where he oversees the Association's nationwide federal legislative and regulatory advocacy activities on the issues of Medicaid and children's health insurance. Moreover, Lici has been a friend of BCLI for several years and is committed to migrant youth and communities.

General Counsel
David Fernandez, Esq.
Mr. Fernandez is the President of David Fernandez & Associates, P.L.L.C. in Washington, D.C. Mr. Fernandez's legal services cover all aspects of dispute resolution, including preparation of various legal memorandums, brief and pleadings on matters dealing with corporate business, administrative, environmental, real estate and international practice before respective Administrative and Civil Courts. He previously worked with the Georgetown University Law Center International Law Institute, MALDEF and U.S. Congressman Richard C. White of El Paso, Texas. He is increasingly involved with International business in China, Latin America and Spain. He was named "Man of the Year" by La Nation Newspaper in D.C., elected Vice Chairman on the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, served six years as the USHCC Legislative Chairman; and is a current member of Leadership Washington; Was elected Chairman, President and a Board Member of the Greater Washington Ibero American Chamber of Commerce; and Water's Edge Townhouse Association. He is also Board Member of the Montclair Property Owners Association, and Legal Counsel and Founding Board Member of the National Hispanic Environmental Council. He received his Bachelors of Arts from Columbia University and his Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Recent Board Members

Nancy Leon, M.A.
Nancy was President of the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI); a national nonprofit organization based in the Washington, D.C. metro area. NHLU selects Latina leaders per year from throughout the United States and provides a four-week leadership program, which includes training at Harvard University and the Center for Creative Leadership. As president of NHLI, she represented Hispanic women at White House briefings and events and advocated on behalf of the Hispanic community regarding congressional issues.

She has been a bilingual teacher and administrator for the California public schools system for twenty years, developing and implementing bilingual and migrant education programs for Hispanic student in preschool through secondary school. Her work brought her numerous awards and recognition; among them the California School Boards Association, a congressional Award from former Congressman Leon Panetta, the New York Times and USA Today.

Art Spurrell
Mr. Spurrell retired in 2001 after working 22 years at Intel Corporation. At Intel he held a wide range of jobs as an individual contributor and a manager. As a manager, he crusaded within Intel to ensure that there were real opportunities for growth for under represented minorities. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Bethel Drop in center in Portland. This small organization works with the local Lutheran Church to provide a very low cost drop in opportunity for children in the multi ethic, economically deprived neighborhood. Mr. Spurrell holds a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University and a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Purdue University. Mr. Spurrell was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.

National Youth Board
Mr. Ernesto Ortiz, President (GA)
Ms. Alma Espinoza, Vice President (CA)
Mr. Miguel Carrillo, Secretary (PA)
Ms. Yessica Garcia, Treasurer (WA)
Mr. Rogelio Garza Jr., Advisor (FL)
Ms. Crystal Maldonado, Press (FL)
Mr. Oliverio Robles (CA)
Ms. Angeles Jimenez (CA)
Ms. Marina Hernandez (CA)
Ms. Francisca Bustos (GA)
Mr. Samuel Flores (NC)
Ms. Beatriz Jimenez (OR)
Mr. Daniel Hueramo (TX)
Ms. Brenda Y. Corrales (TX)