Nora Comstock Honored Among 2014 Latinas of Influence
Hispanic Lifestyle is presenting their 2014 Latina Conference on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 in Ontario, California. This one-day conference will include panel discussions on Latinas in business, Latinas in entertainment, and Latinas in our community. Hispanic Lifestyle will also feature the presentation of their “2014 Latinas of Influence.”
Hundreds of Latinas were nominated but only 31 women were selected for Hispanic Lifestyle’s 2014 Latinas of Influence list. These are women who are making a difference in our communities around the United States. We are proud that Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Ph.D, President and CEO of Las Comadres para las Americas, is part of this amazing group of Latinas.
Although the conference panels are divided into three categories, the work Nora has done with Las Comadres covers all three — business, entertainment, and community — and more.
Dr. Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Visionary
Local (city-based) informal groups of Comadres have existed around the country for over 40 years. In 2000, the Austin, Texas group was started by Elizabeth Garcia (deceased) and Veronica Rivera, and in 2003, Nora started a network in Austin, Texas. The experience inspired Nora to create new groups throughout the country and connect them into what is now the official national and international organization, Las Comadres para las Americas.
Nora, whose passion is building community and sharing resources, used her technological background to take what all these Comadres groups had in common to the next level, using the Internet. She transformed the informal in-home gatherings into both online Las Comadres networks and local community building groups, connecting women around the United States and the world.
Today in cities all over the U.S. and the globe, Latinas are engaged in dialogues about many issues, including education, employment, entrepreneurship, culture, literature, and many others!. The email-based network is known as Las Comadres News Network (LCNN). The group also has developed a presence through social media.
The interest in Latino and Latina literature has grown so much that there is now a dedicated website this effort, latinolit.com, which includes a variety of resources for both readers and writers. Nora has also been a pioneer in helping women in business. In 2012, she launched the pilot bilingual entrepreneurship program, Empresarias, for which a group of aspiring Spanish dominant Latina immigrant entrepreneurs were selected to participate in a business incubation program. She also is about to launch Latinas and Latinos Building Wealth: A Boot Camp, a series of six monthly classes that will teach comadres, compadres and our families how to invest successfully in the market.
Starting March 1, Hispanic Lifestyle will profile each one of these Latinas of Influence on their website, hispaniclifestyle.com, sharing their inspirational and empowering stories. Stay tuned for Nora’s story!