Mark J. Newman heads the Immigration law group at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, Georgia. He served as Chairman of the Atlanta District Director’s Liaison Committee of AILA.  He co-chaired the ABA/Prentice Hall Seminar on the 1990 Immigration Act in Atlanta.  He has spoken to audiences abroad about U.S. immigration and co-authored Immigration Law and Practice in Florida.  He has also keynoted the October 2003 AILA Law Conference in Washington, D.C. and co-authored a recently published article in Ethics in a Brave New World. Mark received his undergraduate degree in 1976 from Princeton University and his law degree in 1979 from the University of Miami School of Law.

Carlos I. Díaz is the vice-president and general manager of Latin American Pay Television Service, a joint venture of Universal Pictures, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox providing premium (Cinecanal and Movie City) and basic (The Film Zone) movie networks for pay television systems in Latin America. He is responsible for all sales, marketing and on-air operations for company networks.

He earned a bachelor of arts degree in social psychology from Yale University in 1971 with a minor in Latin American Literature. He earned a master in business administration from Harvard University in 1981.

Barbarella Diaz serves as Manager of Corporate Accounts and Corporate Relations for Diaz Foods, one of the country’s leading Hispanic distributors serving both retail and foodservice establishments across 26 states. Her primary focus is handling some of the company’s largest clients such as Food Lion and Publix as well as managing corporate donations to various non-profits and other organizations. In addition, Barbarella is also part of The Zaid Group, the management company for Diaz Foods, Diaz Produce, Tortillas de Casa, EDUA and International Imports. Prior to joining the team at Diaz Foods, Barbarella worked for several years in cable advertising sales at CAMA (now Comcast Spotlight) and focused primarily on the Hispanic market. Barbarella is a graduate of Florida State University where she received her B.A. in International Affairs. She has been involved with several community organizations and currently serves on the board of directors of Diaz Foods, Unicef and the Latin American Association as well as the advisory board of the Girl Scouts Council of Northwest Georgia. In addition, Barbarella previously served as a board member and Chairman of the board of the Mexican Center of Atlanta.

Barbarella has two children, Julia, 19 months and Olivia, 4 months.

Carmelo Alvarez has worked more than 15 years with State Farm Insurance in a variety of positions in Arizona, Illinois, Texas and now Georgia. He has worked in their internal department, claims, underwriting, and learning, and development. He has held leadership positions and worked on Department, State and Enterprise wide projects and committees. Previously a State Farm Insurance Agent, Alvarez now serves as an Agency Field Executive and is responsible for all the new agents in the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Alvarez is also active in the community. He has participated with United Way, the Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity. While in Georgia, he has recently become involved with GALEO, NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors), GAMA-Solutions for Industry Leaders, and of course the Latin American Association.

James Curry retired in May 2004 after 38 years of practice with Deloitte & Touche LLP. He has studied Spanish from September 2004 until the present and traveled to Latin America four times during the last three years. He serves on the Georgia Federal Tax Conference board, and is past chairman of the Atlanta Tax Forum, Families First and Georgia Conservancy boards. He is a member of Leadership Atlanta and the Duke Alumni Association.

Esther Carretero is the owner of Tous of Atlanta, which is located at Lenox Square. This boutique began in Spain and has spread around the world. Tous features unique fashion and fine jewelry in sterling set with precious and semi-precious stones.

Gerry H. Carson is the Managing Consultant for the Service Provider practice of Advocate Networks, LLC.

Before joining Advocate Networks, Gerry held responsibility for AT&T wholesale wireline pricing, including all customized pricing offers and negotiations for 22 states. Prior to AT&T, Gerry managed wholesale tactical and strategic pricing for BellSouth in its 9-state footprint.

Prior to work in telecommunications, Gerry started and ran a translation company and also worked as a financial analyst for a bank in Madrid, Spain.

Gerry obtained a Masters in Business Administration in finance from Goizueta Business School in 2000 and a Bachelor of Arts in History and in Spanish from Emory University in 1991.

Gerry has extensive experience in wholesale telecommunications pricing, business case modeling, contract negotiations, product development, strategic analysis, and developing and managing teams.
Gerry is a native of Atlanta and is also on the Board of Directors of Sheltering Arms and the Alumni board of Trinity School.

As Georgia Power’s Community Development Project Manager in the Metro North Region of Atlanta, Ms. Clark supports the local communities through leadership development, strategic planning, existing industry retention and expansions, and with new companies considering an expansion or relocation to the area. Her duties also include working with the fast-growing Hispanic community, where she has represented the company for the past 17 years. Ms. Clark began her career with Georgia Power in 1981 as a writer and editor of the company’s weekly newsletter and two monthly magazines. She worked in communications for 11 years before moving to the Corporate Relations department and beginning her work in the Hispanic community. Prior to joining Georgia Power, Clark was a writer/producer for WSB-Radio.

Ms. Clark is a graduate of the 2005 Leadership Atlanta class. Ms. Clark serves on the boards of the Latin American Association and the Hispanic American Center for Economic Development (HACED). In addition, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Ms. Clark holds a degree in Urban Life Communications-Public Relations from Georgia State University. An Atlanta native, Ms. Clark and her husband, Ed, make their home in Tucker. Her hobbies include sports, gardening and reading.

Joyce Fleming is the partner who manages the Business Immigration Department for Ford & Harrison’s 18 office national labor and employment law practice. She meets the ongoing immigration needs of corporations located all over the United States and abroad that transfer or hire foreign employees, including temporary employment visas, labor certifications, permanent residency (?Green Cards?) and outbound visas for other countries. She handles visa work for businesses relocating entire offices and clients with high volume immigration needs, as well as those with one-time hiring requirements.

Stratton was born in Coral Gables, Florida, the son of Greek immigrants. He received his childhood education in Coral Gables and Miami and graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1950. He attended the University of Miami from 1950 to 1953 at which time he enlisted in the U. S. Army. His military service included tours of duty in Korea and Japan.He was discharged from the military in 1956 and immediately enrolled at The George Washington University, Washington, DC where he completed his studies for a Batchelor’s Degree in 1958, majoring in management and minoring in psychology. Post graduate studies include Industrial Psychology and Marketing at Purdue and Butler Universities, Indiana. Stratton is married to Maria Isabel and they have three children and five grandchildren.

Stratton worked 30 years for the Federal Government. He worked in Indianapolis, Indiana at the U. S. Army Enlisted Evaluation Center for almost 3 years researching and constructing personnel evaluation tests for the military. He worked in Miami for ten years at the U. S. Cuban Refugee Emergency Center as the Office Manager/Administrative Officer. In 1971, he transferred to Atlanta to work in the Regional Office of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, in Human Resources, and later as the Regional Hispanic Employment Program Manager with responsibility for Hispanic advocacy throughout this region. Stratton’s last assignment was as the Administrative Officer for the Atlanta Regional/District Offices and the Regional Laboratory of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. He retired in January, 1988.Other work experience since retirement includes being a Consultant/Instructor in matters of EEO/Affirmative Action/Race Relations/Human Relations.During his first year in Atlanta, Stratton met Angel Ortiz, the founder of the Latin American Association. It was Angel’s foresight and his realization of the need of an organization which could provide assistance to the Latino community. Stratton became involved when Angel was seeking federal funds to establish an office for the Association and he worked with Angel to establish such an office and operation.Stratton has received numerous awards for his work in the Latino community as well as the Greek community. He is a Life Member of the LAA Board of Directors.

He received the U. S. Food and Drug Administration National Equal Opportunity Achievement Award; the Federal Government Regional Hispanic Employment Program Award; LULAC Council #950 Community Service Award; Chapter AHEPAN (Greek organization) of the Year; etc.He has held numerous elected positions in all organizations in which he has participated.

He was a member of the Georgia State Committee, U. S. Commission on Civil Rights; a member of the United Way of Metro Atlanta Board of Directors; co-founder of the Federal Hispanic Employment Program Manager’s Council of Atlanta; Graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Class of ’89.

Ms. McGrath's affiliation with Latin American Association began in the mid-90's, when she chaired the LAA’s Volunteer Lawyer's Committee and represented LAA's clients in civil matters as an attorney at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. She has served Atlanta's Hispanic community as a member of Caminar Latino's Board of Directors, as a staff attorney for Catholic Charities, and most recently as interim legal director for the Latin American Association. Her passion for immigrants' rights has led her to testify in front of the Georgia Legislature, the Georgia Department of Education, and the Georgia Department of Public Safety. She currently has her own immigration law practice in Decatur, Georgia. She is a graduate of Duke University and New York University, and a former adjunct professor at Emory University.

Carlos Pagoaga is Manager, Community & Multicultural Communications for Coca-Cola North America. He is responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies to support the Company’s business objectives with key audiences. Additionally, he is charged with managing the Company’s relationship with various diverse media organizations.

In addition to his Public Affairs work, he has over 15 years of Community Relations experience with The Coca-Cola Company. During that time he managed the Company’s relationship with key national, regional and local Hispanic organizations.

He also serves on several nonprofit boards. He is past-chairman of the National Hispanic Corporate Council, and current-chair of its Education Committee. Pagoaga also serves on the board of the Latin American Association. He was also a member of the Regional Leadership Institute’s Class of 1997.

Prior to working for The Coca-Cola Company, he served as vice president of Marketing for Custom Designs of Atlanta, a lease department for Macy's South. His responsibilities included oversight of the Customer Service, Advertising and Vendor Departments.

Born in Havana, Cuba, he was five months old when his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He is a 1990 graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Marketing major. He received his MBA from Georgia State in 1999. Pagoaga began working at The Coca-Cola Company as a summer intern in June of 1990.

Carlos, an avid scuba diver, is married and has three children.

Juan Saca leads Capgemini’ s Telecommunications Wireless practice in North America since November of 2004. Mr. Saca is responsible for further developing wireless account relationships for the Telecom, Media & Entertainment practice in the U.S., as well as for the growth of the business unit's wireless strategy and solution offerings, driving sales revenues in TME' s top cable and wireless accounts. He also oversees the advancement of the company's wireless provider-specific offerings and overall strategy for taking them to market.

Mr. Saca joined BellSouth International in 1992 as director of Operations in Latin America with initial stewardship responsibilities in Mexico. He later became the Director of Business Development for Israel and Latin America. In 1997, he was appointed Vice President/COO for BellSouth Chile where he oversaw operations. In 2000, he became President and General Manager of BellSouth Peru.

James W. Sarvis holds the position of vice president – international field operations in Airport Customer Service at Delta’s world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Sarvis is responsible for the day-to-day operations in over 110 international airports around the world. This includes customer service areas such as check-in, ticketing, baggage, fueling, and the Crown Room Clubs. He has direct responsibility for over 900 Delta employees, over 100 ground handling providers, and a budget of over 264 million dollars. Under his leadership, Delta has experienced the largest international expansion in the company’s history. In the last 24 months Delta has launched new service to 30 cities in 20 different countries.

In the past four years, Sarvis served as director – international field operations in ACS and director - Latin America & the Caribbean with the Marketing division. Sarvis began his career at Delta over 34 years ago in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has held key positions within the company, including field director for Delta’s international services in Atlanta, Georgia, where he ensured the highest levels of customer service and safety for all international flights originating in Atlanta. In addition, he administered the ground-handling contracts for seven international and domestic airlines; served as a liaison with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and managed Delta’s Atlanta airport safety program which at the time totaled 637 daily flights and 4,100 employees.Between 1999 and 2000, Sarvis oversaw Delta’s operational and customer service areas in Southern California, including a workforce of more than 1,000 employees across Los Angeles, Ontario, Orange County and San Diego, California; and Honolulu and Kahului, Hawaii.Sarvis has also influenced the ?Hispanizacin? (making the airline more Hispanic friendly) of the airline in various areas, including the use of Spanish-language boarding gate screens, kiosks and boarding announcements on flights from the United States to the Latin America region, as well as the hiring of bilingual staff in airports and customer services areas.Sarvis is on the board of directors of the Latin American Association, an entity that provides transitional services and development programs to the Latino community, fosters awareness about contributions of Latinos, and promotes solutions that benefit the larger society. He is also a member of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an entity that promotes the economic growth of Hispanic companies and serves as a link between businesses in Latin America and the state of Georgia; he is also member of the Georgia Dominican- American, Argentinean-American, and Ecuadorian-American Chambers of Commerce, which promote and support the domestic and international economic development between Georgia’s companies and respective countries.

Within the company, Sarvis serves as Executive Advisor to the Latin American-Hispanic Employee Network (LAHEN), an employee affinity group. LAHEN’s mission is to serve as a strategic resource to Delta by engaging Latin American-Hispanic employees in awareness, networking and professional growth opportunities across all levels of the organization.

In 2005 Sarvis was named one of the Most Influential Hispanics in Georgia by the business magazine Nuevo Impacto. In 2008, Sarvis was recognized by CareerFOCUS Magazine and the National Eagle Leadership Institute with the Eagle Award for setting a higher standard of leadership in his corporate and community involvements.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sarvis attended the University of Puerto Rico.

Sarvis is married and has three children.