History of the Hispanic Caucus 

iAdelante! Seguiremos adelante… Unidos, como la familia hispana, rica en cultura, diversidad, lenguaje y arte... (Alexandra Heinsen-Combs, 1992)

HC – Haciendo Historia (Making History)

 The Hispanic Caucus (HC) was formed in March,1992, when Luis F. Riquelme and Alexandra Heinsen-Combs sent letters to as many Hispanic and non-Hispanic clinicians they could identify, who were working with the Latino community nationwide. Initial response was enthusiastic--by November 1992, the Hispanic Caucus held its first membership forum at the ASHA Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The group was initially guided by leaders in the field interested in diversity issues: Aquiles Iglesias, Hortencia G. Kayser and Lorraine Cole. In 1993, the founding Steering Committee was formed. Members of the Steering Committee included: Judith Aguilera-Posen, Alejandro Brice, Teresita Foster, Robert D. Hernández, Alina de la Paz, Emilio Pérez, Marlene B. Salas-Provance, Mariana Urbina, Nancy Vidal, and Co-Chairs Luis F. Riquelme and Alexandra Heinsen-Combs. By the second year of the HC, over 300 clinicians nationwide had joined the group. Activities of the Steering Committee included developing a set of By-Laws for the group, strategic planning, maintaining communication with the ASHA Executive Board, and presenting poster sessions at annual meetings of ASHA to increase visibility. By the late 1990’s, an Executive Board was elected, and the group has continued to move forward and grow over the years.

Past Presidents:

Luis F. Riquelme, M.S., Co-President, 1993-2002

Alexandra Heinsen-Combs, M.A., Co-President, 1993-2002

Nancy Flores Castilleja, M.A., 2002-2004

Marlene Salas-Provance, Ph.D., 2005-2007

Current President

Maria Diana Gonzales, Ph.D., 2008-2009

Since its inception, the Hispanic Caucus has served as a forum and voice for meeting the immediate needs of Hispanic professionals, students, and consumers. Since 1993, the leaders of the HC have initiated a series of dialogues with ASHA Executive Board members to discuss issues of mutual concern. This has resulted in representation of Latino professionals in all business of ASHA, restructuring the Multicultural Issues Board to include the multicultural constituency groups, greater visibility of Latinos as clinicians and clients in promotional materials, continued efforts to enhance the Minority Scholarship Fund of the ASHFoundation, and various ASHA policy documents, including addressing clinicians/students with non-standard accents.

Diversity is at the forefront of the Hispanic Caucus as we represent members of several ethnic groups originating from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Central and South America, and Mexico. We are a heterogeneous group with some similar traits, characteristics, and traditions. We are united by our culture and our common desire to meet the needs of the Hispanic population with communication and/or swallowing disorders.

The Hispanic Caucus has been meeting yearly at the ASHA convention.  The meeting continues to be a vibrant combination of a work agenda with a ‘show and tell’ of the accomplishments of the HC members from across the world.  The attendance at these meetings ranges between 50-100 professionals.  Each year, the HC has been fortunate to offer free raffles of materials and books donated by companies like Super Duper, The Psychological Corporation/Harcourt, Kay Elemetrics, Singular, Thomson, Delmar Learning and others. 

There is always a level of great excitement and energy at each of these meetings and the resulting networking lasts throughout the year.

iAdelante! Seguiremos adelante… Unidos, como la familia hispana, rica en cultura, diversidad, lenguaje y arte… (Alexandra Heinsen-Combs, 1992)

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