Feb102021

NAC Blog: The latest on CRA

NAC

A few weeks ago, the National Advocacy Committee Regionals met for a virtual retreat to plan out the year and dream big goals for what we can accomplish as we grow our advocacy operation. As we prepare for a year of big legislative fights, such as increasing housing inventory and passing immigration reform, we need to be prepared and ready to wield the power of our people when it counts. One of the primary ways in which we do that is through growing our National Advocacy Committee, individuals that have raised their hand to join our advocacy efforts. If you are receiving this blog post via email, you’ve likely already joined the NAC. You know the drill, you’re a rock star! If you’re reading this through social media, we invite you to join today.

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Feb32021

NAC Blog: Rethinking Cities After COVID-19

NAC

Aside from my work in the policy and advocacy space, I run the Hispanic Wealth Project along with HWP Chairman Jerry Ascencio. One of my favorite things about the NAHREP 10 is that no matter where we are in our financial journey, whether we just got our real estate license and are working on paying off our credit cards or we’re extremely successful business owners, there is always a place to improve. For me, I’ve been focusing on tackling NAHREP 10 Discipline #5: Invest at least 20% of your income in real estate and stocks, because they are the best and safest way to build wealth.

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Jan272021

NAC Blog: Immigration Bill Introduced in Congress

NAC

Let’s talk about immigration today. I am declaring it into the universe: We will pass comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year. Who is with me here? I’ve had a front row seat to two previous attempts at passing an immigration reform bill in Washington D.C. The reason these bills haven’t passed is because immigration is HARD. Immigration is what is known in politics as a wedge issue, or issues that invoke strong responses from both sides.

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Jan202021

NAC Blog: A new President and a flurry of executive actions, the fate of the GSEs & NAHREP CA takes on housing inventory

NAC

Today we wake up to a new President. Yesterday we saw the first Latina Supreme Court Justice swear in the first woman of color to the office of Vice President, and J-Lo reclaimed our place in this country by singing “This Land is Our Land.” So much to unpack there. However, between last week and this week a whole lotta POLICY that applies to our mission happened so let’s get right to it.

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Jan132021

NAC Blog: Democracy, you ok girl?

NAC

As the daughter of immigrants, I tend to look at “Democracy” through the lens of my parents and my grandparents. I grew up hearing stories of how the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the party that dominated Mexico for 71 years, would go into the “ranchos,” or rural Mexico where my family comes from, and buy people off prior to elections by giving them free washing machines or refrigerators in exchange of votes.

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Jan62021

NAC Blog: New Year, New Stimulus

NAC

Feliz año Nuevo! I know this was a rough holiday season for many of us. For me, resolutions, reflections, and all of the usual rituals I do around the New Year were just plain weird. I’m in Southern California, what is now considered the world’s epicenter of COVID outbreaks, so my New Year’s reflection and resolution was just one word: gratitude.

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Dec162020

NAC Blog: In 2020, NAHREP advocacy has been hard at work

NAC

As we slowly say goodbye to 2020, it’s important to spend some time reflecting. A lot has happened and I don’t think many of us have had any opportunity to process everything we’ve been through. Personally, I’ve been go go go all year. I, like many of you, lost someone very special to me to COVID-19 this year. To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to process this loss, nor the seismic changes we’ve gone through this year. Over the break, I hope to spend some time just reflecting, making my peace with things and choosing what it is that I want to take with me into 2021. I hope all of you will join me in that. This year has definitely been one of growth and that is the greatest silver lining.

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Dec92020

NAC Blog: Latino small businesses and COVID-19

NAC

Noerena here reporting from California, where we are officially in another shutdown. While I am a firm believer that the only way to fix our economy is getting to the other side of this awful virus, I gotta say, I’m worried about our Latino small businesses. We’ve boasted about this before: Latinos have been the driving force behind entrepreneurial growth in the U.S. Over the past decade, the number of Latino business owners grew by 34%, compared to only 1% growth for all business owners. However, the current lack of cash on hand for Latino-owned businesses can result in the loss of over two million jobs if Latino employer businesses have to permanently close before the end of the year.

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Dec22020

NAC Blog: NAHREP priorities for the new administration

NAC

Hope everyone had a delicious, relaxing and safe Thanksgiving. As for me, since I’ve been moving, I spent the day packing and covered in boxes. Therefore, my Thanksgiving dinner consisted of jackfruit carnitas tacos (don’t hate, it was so good) and some quinoa salad. The meal was delicious “pero nada que ver con Thanksgiving.” I did stick an apple pie in the mix though! How were yours?

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Nov182020

NAC Blog: Latinos in the Biden Administration

NAC

The Holidays are here! But what in the world does that mean for this wacky year that has felt like a decade? Look familia, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. We usually gather at my parent’s house in Chino, CA, my mom cooks the turkey, I cook all of the side dishes, and my sister bakes desserts. Then, all of the tias and tios come over (my mom is the oldest of 10 and they all live in in the Inland Empire of California, imagínate!) and we end the night playing games and dancing to burn off the calories. With coronavirus cases skyrocketing and my husband and I moving into a new home next week, it’s going to be a tiny two-person Thanksgiving for us this year and I might just be inconsolable. So check in on me.

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