2018 ANNUAL REPORT

Dear Familia,

Ambition can be a powerful driver for growth. It can push you beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone. It can inspire you to continually seek greatness in your education, career, and personal life. It can transform you into a better version of yourself.

But without a network and a sense of community, ambition can become an endeavor of self-serving gratification.

And it is this fine line between personal success and the empowerment of our collective SHPE familia that inspired our organization’s theme for 2018: “Better Together!”

Because we truly are better together. We’re better when we’re backing one another, building relationships, and breaking down the barriers that stand between us and greater Hispanic representation in STEM.

Looking back on SHPE’s 44-year history, we are so incredibly proud of how far our familia has come, and for its monumental achievements in 2018.

Our 2018-2020 Strategic Plan helped us define our vision for the organization—one we hope will serve as a foundation for decades to come. The journey we began in 2018 focuses on five specific goals, each designed to support and strengthen our core four values: Familia, Service, Education, and Resilience.

First, as part of our Excellence & Innovation initiative, our aim is to position SHPE to become the singular and premier organization serving Hispanics in STEM. To be at the forefront of innovating cutting-edge solutions to support Hispanics as they earn their degrees and credentials, build their careers, and thrive in an ever-changing economy.

We know that the Hispanic community has a wealth of talent to share with the world. The challenge is getting organizations to recognize—and tap into—that talent. Another of our primary goals is to Advocate & Influence on behalf of our familia for diversity, inclusion, and equity in schools and workplaces across the nation.

As part of that advocacy, SHPE’s third goal entails working with corporations, academic institutions, government agencies and other organizations, to facilitate Employment & Career Growth opportunities and leadership roles for Hispanics in STEM.

Our Members & Stakeholders are the lifeblood of our organization. Without you, our vision would be merely a dream. We plan to continually seek ways to partner with you, our members and stakeholders, to provide exceptional value in exchange for your steadfast support.

Finally, in order to thrive in an increasingly competitive field, SHPE’s National team must have robust, integrated systems in place to be successful. Our goal for Operational Optimization & Accountability involves strengthening SHPE’s organizational infrastructure so that we deliver excellence across the board and give only the very best in support of our members and stakeholders.

To that end, we’re looking to add new talent to the SHPE National team, to ensure we’re always bringing bold ideas and fresh voices to the discourse and the work we do. At the same time, it’s important that our current team members feel valued and positioned in roles that best accentuate their strengths and skills, so that they can achieve career satisfaction for themselves and in turn, better serve the SHPE familia.

We know that many of you share our passion, dedication, sense of urgency, and optimism for SHPE. It is humbling to remember that, beyond our own personal ambitions as individual members of the SHPE familia, the driving force behind everything we do is to serve a greater purpose: to empower the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential—and change the world.

Thank you for being part of our familia. We are so excited to have you join us on this journey, and can’t wait to move forward and upward with you, side by side.

Un abrazo fuerte,

Raquel Tamez, CEO
Miguel Alemany, Board Chair