Hispanics reached a historic milestone in California last week: they are now the Golden State's largest single ethnic group, according to new U.S. Census estimates. The new data confirms projections made last year by California's Department of Finance. But while Hispanics make up 39 percent of the state's population, they still lag when it comes to voter turnout and political clout. READ MORE AT KQED

Everyone wants to reach new heights in their business, and networking is the answer to that. Networking is vital to building your business, and here are some easy tips to take your networking to the next level:

1. Make a good first impression
As most of us already know, the first impression is generally the last impression. So, it is essential you create a positive impression on the person. A handshake says a lot about a person. A firm handshake indicates a strong and confident personality. Also, make sure to remember the person’s name with and use it in the conversation. READ MORE AT TECH IN ASIA

With the United States encompassing the second-largest Hispanic population in the world accounting for 18 percent of the population — trailing only that of Mexico — it makes good business sense for every company's radar to be focused on the growing Hispanic marketplace.

Propelled by a U.S. Hispanic community that has grown 592 percent since 1970 and is expected to comprise nearly a third of the general populace by 2050, restaurant operations from coast to coast are targeting this exploding market in a big way — and hoping to tap into its estimated $1.3 trillion spending power. READ MORE AT RESTAURANT NEWS

Hispanic shoppers like Maria Creamer are a retailer's dream. She goes to the mall at least once a week to either window shop or buy clothes. "We like to shop a lot, and always look good," said the 51-year -old Puerto Rican with a laugh as she winds her way through a department store in downtown Stamford, Connecticut.

Latina women are fast becoming the new majority consumer, and the purchasing power they wield is making retail companies sit up and take notice.

"I don't care if it is from Walmart or Lord and Taylor, if I like it, I'll buy it," said Gembley Lucero, a 33-year-old mom. It does not surprise her to learn that Latinas are spending more than their non-Latina counterparts. READ MORE AN NBC NEWS

You may be tempted to unleash your fury in an email. After all, the format allows you to thoroughly cover your grievances—something that might not happen in the heat of the moment.

While email can allow you to avoid an awkward or heated in-person exchange, the for­­mat does little to re­­solve the conflict and move the relationship forward. Instead of lashing out on email, follow this advice:

• Don’t forget that you are ad­­dressing a person. When you’re hiding behind your computer screen, it is easy to write whatever you want because you don’t have to endure the other person’s confusion, anger or hurt feelings. READ MORE AT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DAILY

Increased buying power and consumer loyalty are a few reasons to target U.S. Hispanics, but understanding the cultural nuances within this widely diverse market is essential for success.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic market is the single largest ethnic group in the United States and contributes one trillion dollars in buying power. Although they actively embrace new technology platforms, U.S. Hispanics are very loyal and regularly remain faithful to their roots, especially their native language. This type of behavior is known as acculturating, or incorporating traits from other cultures while also keeping traditional customs and native language close. READ MORE AT O'DWYER'S

The Latina segment of our population, particularly second-generation Latinas, is well positioned to enter the ranks of powerful leaders in the U.S. As the fastest-growing female demographic, Latina women will represent one in six individuals in the U.S. by the year 2050. With increasing college enrollments, often leading to the pursuit of advanced degrees, this ambitious, resourceful, and bilingual segment is offering up many of tomorrow's leaders. Further, Latina entrepreneurs own an estimated 1,033,100 businesses as of 2014, generating $71.1 billion in revenue and employing over 400,000 workers. A powerful force to be reckoned with! READ MORE AT INC.

The summer offers enormous potential to network and to build professional relationships.

The weather is generally kinder, and more people are inclined to be out and about. People tend to be happier, and happy people tend to be available and generous with their time.

The goal in networking is to establish strategic career-focused relationships. READ MORE AT THE STREET

Our thesis is that Hispanic students perform academically better when taught by Hispanics and that, therefore, Lone Star College must actively search for more qualified Hispanic teachers.

There is appreciable empirical evidence to document that Hispanics learn better from their own kind. We cite some of these sources. An NBER Working Paper reports: “The results of the test score evaluations indicate that exposure to an own-race teacher did generate substantive gains in student achievement for both black and white students. More specifically, these results suggest that a year with an own-race teacher increased math and reading scores by three to four percentile points ... for nearly all groups of students defined by race and gender.” Read more at The Courier

A new study found that nearly half of the Hispanics living in the United States aren't aware that they have high cholesterol. However, awareness might not even help because only a third of those who are aware take medications.

High cholesterol is known to increase one's risk of heart disease and stroke due to the fatty deposits or plaque that builds up in the walls of the arteries. Eventually, this build up can cause a blood clot that could block an artery to the heart leading to a heart attack.

Dr. Carlos Rodriguez of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., worked with his colleagues in reviewing the data of more than 16,000 Hispanics between ages 18 to 74 who visited clinics in San Diego, Chicago, New York and Miami from 2008 to 2011. READ MORE AT HNGN

More Latinos are now graduating with postsecondary degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), but they continue to be significantly underrepresented in the total number of STEM credentials earned.

A new report released Wednesday by Excelencia in Education found that Latinos earned more STEM credentials across all academic levels—including associate, bachelor and graduate degrees—over the last few years. However, only 9 percent of STEM degrees and certificates went to Latinos in 2013.

The report lists the top 25 colleges and universities that are graduating Latinos in STEM. Those schools are primarily located in three states—California, Florida, Texas—and Puerto Rico. The majority of them are Hispanic-Serving Institutions, which means over a quarter of their student body is Hispanic. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

Diligence and hard work, keeping your nose to the grindstone, will always pay off when seeking to land your next promotion or job opportunity, right? Actually, no.

This is not to suggest that such attributes are unimportant, but they are only components of success — not the end itself. Self-promotion is key, said Sharon Ranson, founder and president of the Ranson Group, at the recent Women in Investment Management Conference. Ranson moderated a discussion titled “Promote Yourself: Raise Your Visibility and Land Your Next Opportunity,” with Deb Brown of Russell Reynolds Associates and Tanya van Biesen of Spencer Stuart.

Self-promotion does not come as easily to women as it does to men, Ranson noted, so she created the acronym “PROMOTE” as a guide:

Purpose: You need to define what you want to achieve and what success looks like for you. READ MORE AT CFA INSTITUTE

Two recently released reports provide an enlightening picture of the state of higher education for Latinos in the United States. While there have been encouraging developments over the past 10 years, Latinos remain underrepresented and underserved across virtually all post-secondary education sectors, with many barriers to Latino higher education attainment -- and the accompanying life-long, generation-spanning benefits that could accrue -- remaining stubbornly in place.

The first report is a 2015 fact book, "The Condition of Latinos in Education," prepared by Excelencia in Education (EIE), which contains a wealth of information from early childhood education through graduate studies and into employment.

Data make it clear that Latinos will represent a greater and greater percentage of our students -- and thus our workers -- in the future. READ MORE AT HUFFINGTON POST

Most small businesses have no budget or marketing strategy. If you fall in this category, don’t worry there are ways to market effectively with little to no cost to you. However, once you get some money in, it is important to put together a marketing budget and a strategy so you may get greater results.

Here are 10 Small Business Marketing Tips to Help you Get Some Results.

1. Give Your Stuff Away

If you have the type of product or service, that once people try it, they will have to have more, then give it away, at the right places and the right times, to the right audience. Giving stuff away can be expensive, but if you have a strategy of where, when and who you want to do this for, along with a way for them to get more and for you to follow up, there could be not better way to have your prospects experience your product or service. READ MORE AT HUDSON VALLEY NEWS NETWORK

Latin America is a modern marketer’s dream, and not just because of its size. By 2020, nearly one out of every 10 dollars in the world economy will come from Latin America. The region will soon represent 10% of the global population and 9% of global GDP, with 640 million customers. It also has the fourth-largest mobile market in the world, with social media adoption even surpassing that of the United States. Positioned at the forefront of digital and mobile adoption, Latin America provides an interesting look into how new marketing trends are taking hold on a global scale.

At HubSpot, we conduct an annual global survey on the state of inbound marketing, which involves capturing customers’ attention with valuable content discoverable through social media and organic search — a more efficient approach to lead generation in the internet era than traditional “push” marketing efforts. READ MORE AT HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

In 2014, Google came in for tough scrutiny when the Silicon Valley-based online search giant released employee diversity statistics showing scant levels of African-American and Latino employment, along with relatively low numbers of women holding technology and management positions. Google then was the first among major Silicon Valley technology companies, including Facebook and Apple, to release such figures in response to calls by fair employment activists to do so.

Earlier this month, the company released its diversity numbers again, revealing negligible progress over the past year. According to Google data, women still hold roughly one-fifth of the company’s tech jobs and leadership positions. READ MORE AT DIVERSE

Learn more about the feature guests of the Marketing, Media and PR Networking Forum being held Thursday, June 18 at Kinmont Chicago. 

Trina Fresco, Vice President, U.S. Community Alliances, Events and Engagement, Nielsen

Trina Fresco is the Vice President of U.S. Community Alliances, Events and Engagement for Nielsen. In her role she leads the collaboration with multicultural organizations across the country to increase Nielsen’s brand awareness with diverse consumers and improve the overall probability of multicultural involvement to reach our commitment of ensuring diversity in measurement. Trina also represents Nielsen as a Thought Leader. She also serves as the Women in Nielsen (WIN) Midwest co-chair of the community relations subcommittee. She offers large-enterprise expertise through her tenure as vice president of operations for an IT firm for six years, plus national account manager and paint chemist within the chemical industry for nearly a decade.
Trina is passionate about her community and is an active board member of the Chicago Foundation for Women, and serves on a number of additional boards and committees. Most importantly, Trina is the mother of two angels, Sofia and Giana, and a little king, Lorenzo. Having had three children under three at one point in her life, she and her husband, George, try to keep things calm in the South Loop of Chicago.

Marco Lopez,  Executive V.P. and Partner, Elemento L2

Marco López is the co-founder of Elemento L2, the creative agency that drives word of mouth and consumer engagement. Marco leads the company’s new client acquisition, the overall strategic direction of the company and elemento’s planning & creative departments.

Elemento’s current client roster includes Coca-Cola, Disney, PowerAde, Wilson, Target, NBA, Brown-Forman and Get Covered Illinois.

 Marco López led the Hispanic Department at Relay for over four years. During his tenure, Relay grew into a sole department, creating new expertise in Planning & Creative for the first time in the agency. The Hispanic Department at Relay during Marco’s leadership served clients such as Mazola, P&G, and AT&T amongst others.

Marco was also Marketing Director for Tribune’s Hoy Newspaper’s three daily editions (LA, NY and Chicago). Previous leadership roles included, the launch of his own agency (Matraca Marketing) and as Director of Diversity Marketing for AT&T in San Antonio, overseeing wireless diversity initiatives nationwide.

Marco grew up in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and now lives in Chicago with his family.

Jimena Catarivas, General Manager, La Raza Newspaper

Jimena Catarivas Corbett is the General Manager of La Raza Newspaper, the first woman to hold this position since the paper opened its doors 45 years ago. La Raza is Chicago’s leading Spanish-language newspaper and among the largest and oldest Sunday Hispanic newspapers in the United States, with a weekly audited circulation of more than 153,000 and the highest readership among Hispanic publications in Chicago.

A native of Montevideo, Uruguay, Catarivas Corbett joined La Raza Newspaper in February 2002. She worked her way up through the company, earning promotions to Assistant to the Publisher and to Marketing and Community Relations Manager before being named GM in 2011.

During her tenure with the company, La Raza’s audience increased by 27% YOY and local sales grew by 19%. In 2015 La Raza was nationally recognized by Editor & Publisher as one of the top “10 Newspapers That Do It Right.” In addition it has been recognized by the National Association of Hispanic Publications as the “Best Spanish Language Weekly” five times over the past decade and received numerous gold recognitions in a variety of editorial and design categories.

Catarivas Corbett attended Minnesota State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a Bachelor of Science in International Business with a minor in Business Administration. During her studies in Minnesota State she also completed a study abroad program through the College of Business in Rouen, France.

John W. Alfonzo, Programming Research Manager, Telemundo Chicago

John Alfonzo leverages his insights of the Spanish language TV audience composition to assist news, marketing, community relations and management to develop a deeper understanding of Chicago’s Hispanic market and establish turn-key strategies to effectively increase viewership levels.

Additionally, John works directly with the Sales department to highlight market trends and illustrate the upside potential of the Hispanic market as a viable segment for small and large business alike.

John’s prior roles include research and planning director at San Jose Group and project manager at Millward Brown, where he developed in-depth expertise in product development, brand strategy, and managed communication optimization for companies like Unilever, Kraft, Capital One, Valspar, Abbott Nutrition and American Family insurance among many other Fortune 500 organizations.

John holds a B.A. in Marketing with a concentration in Research from DePaul University, in Chicago, IL. He is completely bilingual and fully embraces the duality of living between two worlds.

Anabel Monge, Lead News Co-anchor, Telemundo Chicago

Anabel joined Telemundo Chicago in September 2014; previously Monge worked in San Antonio as a weekday and weekend news anchor and a general assignment reporter from 2008 to 2013. Prior to this, she worked in Sacramento as a general assignment reporter from 2007 to 2008. Monge was a general assignment reporter in Fresno, California from 2005 to 2007. She also worked as a general assignment reporter for NBC 9 in El Paso from 2004 to 2005. Anabel began her career at NBC 9 in Midland, Texas as a general assignment reporter in 2002.

Monge is an Emmy award-winning journalist. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from New Mexico State University.

Time is running out to register. 

Even the most seasoned job hunter can make mistakes when it comes to writing resumes and nailing the job interview. So college students and recent graduates who are new to the process are bound to go through some missteps.

You can minimize the errors, though, by learning from the experience of those who've gone before you. Aliza Licht, senior vice president of global communications at Donna Karan International, the fashion brand, tells the tale of her rise up the career ladder in her new book, "Leave Your Mark" (Grand Central Publishing, $26). Licht's advice ranges from how to use social media professionally to surviving office politics. But she also talks at length about how to break into an industry in the first place.

She shared some of those tips recently during an interview. Here's an edited transcript of our conversation. READ MORE AT CHICAGO TRIBUNE

I am a Latino living in the U.S. That means I will live to be at least 80, according to the recently released CDC report. Whoopee! Not bad huh? That means I’ll outlive the “average white dude” by two years and I’ll outlive “the average black guy” by seven years. However, before I start adding up the years and budgeting my savings and social security funds, I should consider that I’m also much more apt to die from diabetes or complications from it than just about any other demographic group in the country.

Oh, and by the way, my longevity is severely affected by one other factor: I’ve spent most of my life in the United States. That’s right. If I had spent more of my life in Latin America and then come to the United States, I would live longer. According to the CDC’s first national study on Hispanic health risks and leading causes of death in the United States, “foreign-born Hispanics experience better health and fewer health risks than U.S.-born Hispanics.” READ MORE AT FOX NEWS LATINO

Two-thirds of Latinos in the U.S. consider their Hispanic background to be part of their race, a newly released Pew Research Center survey has found.

That's the case even though Hispanic is considered an ethnicity by the U.S. Census bureau.

"That finding alone ... speaks to many Hispanics who say that their background is part of their race. That is something that doesn't fit with what Census' five standard backgrounds are," said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic research at Pew Research Center.

Those backgrounds are white, black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.

The Pew Research Center's report Mutiracial in America, issued Thursday, gives a detailed picture of how Americans who consider themselves multiracial see themselves. People from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds were surveyed for the report. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS