On the surface, Latino and Hispanic students don’t seem to be suffering as much from the U.S. student debt crisis. Only 22 percent of Hispanic households carry student loan debt, compared to 42 percent and 40 percent of white households and black households, respectively.

But the bad news is that the low debt level is mostly because fewer Hispanics are attending college, according to the Pew Research Center. (And many of those who do are more likely to attend less expensive community colleges.)

There is good news, however. You can avoid a heavy debt load while achieving your dream of a college education and the higher earnings that can come with it, thanks to a long list of scholarships specifically for Latino and Hispanic students. READ MORE AT STUDENT LOAN HERO

Read biographies of feature guests for the 2017 Sales & Marketing Networking Forum being held Tuesday October 31 at River North's premier upscale speakeasy vibe lounge... Untitled Chicago. Gain insight and learn tips from industry experts!

MODERATOR

Jessica Delgado, Weather Anchor, Telemundo Chicago
Jessica Delgado is a weather news anchor for NBC Telemundo Chicago. As part of the Telemundo Chicago news team, Delgado reports on weather conditions and news stories on the environment. Jessica joined Telemundo Chicago in July of 2017.

Before joining Telemundo Chicago, Jessica was part of the Telemundo Arizona team since 2014. Previous to Telemundo Arizona, Jessica was a reporter for MUNDOFOX in Miami Florida and was on the editorial team for BBC MUNDO International. Jessica began her journalism career as a production assistant intern at Univision for their national news show with Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas.

Jessica received her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations from Miami University and postgraduate degree in Meteorology from Penn State University.

To learn more about Jessica Delgado, visit her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

DISCUSSION PANELISTS

Dasha Arias, Senior Account Manager, Google

Born and raised in Chicago, of Ecuadorian descent, Dasha Arias is a Sr. Account Manager in the Sales - Global Business Organization at Google. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail sectors helping them achieve their brand and performance objectives by consulting on digital marketing strategies and solutions. ​

Outside of her core role, Dasha also leads Google’s Hispanic Googler Network at the global level, with a focus of helping minority-owned businesses grow online and closing the gap of minorities in STEM-related fields.

Passionate about exposure, access and opportunity for all, Dasha founded an organization over the summer called Rêver, that leverages dance as an instrument to introduce underserved youth in Chicago to the conventionalism of STEM, and equips them with skillsets to achieve their dreams.

Dasha graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Communication Studies, Dance & Business Institutions, and formerly danced for the Chicago Bulls.

Erik Cascio, Partner, New York Life Insurance Company

Erik Cascio was born and raised in Chicago in the Bridgeport and Pilsen neighborhoods. Throughout his teenage years growing up his Mom remarried and his Step-Dad who now Erik calls his real Dad took him out of the streets of Chicago and his family moved to a small little town called Crystal Lake. Erik stood out being only 1 of 5 Latinos who at that time attended the Crystal Lake High Schools. He struggled to adapt and coming from a low income neighborhood with limited education resources was behind nearly 3 years in reading, writing and math education. He barely graduated with his High School diploma.

After struggling in High School he decided to attend the local community college. He increased his GPA just enough to get accepted by DePaul University. It was at DePaul where he started to excel. Erik graduated with a bachelors degree in Marketing with a Sales Leadership Concentration. His education and drive would lead him into his current path and passion.

Erik joined New York Life in the late summer of 2014 as a Financial Services Professional. In his first year with New York Life he achieved his first Executive Council* which is a milestone that only the top percentile of advisors receive in New York Life. The next year he completed his second consecutive Executive Council* leading to his a promotion in April of 2016 as an Associate Partner in just 19 months being with New York Life. As of October of 2016, he received the official title to full Partner of New York Life and now leads one of the fastest growing offices across the company!

Outside of his career, he has dedicated time to educating young Latino families and children about financial awareness and professional development. He has partnered with many local community colleges and organizations as well as serving as a Committee Chair for Finance and Fundraising for the Elgin Hispanic Network. Lastly, he spends as much time as he can with his newly engaged fiancé Yudi Rodriguez whom he met at New York Life in 2015.

Chelsey Krull, Director of Retail Marketing, CME Group

Chelsey Krull is Director of Retail Marketing for CME Group. Chelsey joined CME Group in July, 2017 and leads their global retail marketing efforts across the APAC, EMEA and US regions.

Prior to that, Chelsey was with Ryan Specialty Group (RSG), an international, specialty B2B insurance organization. As Director of Marketing for RSG Underwriting Managers, Chelsey led the marketing efforts across North America and Europe for 17 distinct business units across high specialized and complex risk segments.

Prior to RSG, she was the Director of Marketing and Business Development with Trading Advantage, an online investment school that teaches day traders how to trade stocks, futures, options and forex.

Chelsey specializes in crafting compelling stories about how organizations solve their customer's most complex problems. To do this successfully involves strategic, well-executed integrated marketing campaigns and immersion in the clients’ point of view.

Chelsey graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of South Dakota with a double major in Spanish and Marketing. She is currently an MBA candidate at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

Andrea Arreola Terán, Field Marketing Manager, Verizon Telematics, Mexico

Andrea is a Marketing Manager for Verizon Telematics in Schaumburg Illinois. Currently Andrea works in B2B inside sales and marketing for an emerging market, Mexico. Her main responsibilities are to determine current buying product trends, as well, the communicator between marketing and sales. Andrea’s objectives are geared towards best branding opportunities for market expansion purposes.

Andrea has three years in the telematics industry. In addition with her career, Andrea is laser focused on her customers, traveling to Mexico every other month for events, media interviews and demand generation. Her main purpose at Verizon Telematics is to serve as an effective intermediary amongst the marketing and sales departments for unit attainment.

Andrea graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S in Business Administration and a minor in Spanish Language and Literature. During her college career, Andrea was actively part of many Latino oriented organizations such as: Latino Alliance, Mujer a Mujer, and DACA. Andrea is currently part of the NIU Alumni Association.

Time is running out to register. The 2017 Healthcare Networking Forum is next Tuesday. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Register soon >> http://bit.ly/2y3RtRP

Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Salary negotiation is often thought of as complex, risky and only for people who are high up on the career ladder. Recent grads and those who are just starting out hesitate to negotiate salary, usually due to a perceived lack of experience. Whether you’re a recent college grad, an experienced professional, or anything in between, these universal tips can help you leverage your skills and experience so that you can build a strong business case for your next salary negotiation.

Before we dive into these salary negotiation tips, it’s always a good idea to remind yourself exactly why you’re negotiating your salary in the first place. Simply put, not attempting to negotiate your salary is the worst decision you can make. READ MORE AT PAYSCALE

For more than a week, Marisol Paniagua has been living at an evacuation center. She had been scheduled to pick grapes at a vineyard near the city of Santa Rosa, Calif. But that work was canceled because of the wildfires ravaging Northern California.

“It’s very difficult right now because we just have a little bit of gas left in our car. That’s how we are still able to drive around,” said Paniagua, 37. “But the fact is, we have nothing.”

The wildfires in Northern California have already done more than $1 billion in damage according to the state’s insurance commissioner. In Sonoma County, one of the hardest hit areas, about a third of the economy is related to agriculture, wine and tourism. READ MORE AT HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA

A recent study by Yale Climate Change Communications found that U.S. Latinos are significantly more worried about climate change than other groups and are willing to take action. They also tend to be more vulnerable to air pollution and extreme weather because of where they live and work. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, for example, hit Latino communities especially hard. All across the country, Latinos are working hard to fight polluters and protect our air, water and climate. Here are the Latino voices leading the way in fighting climate change. READ MORE AT HUFFPOST

Career success cannot be achieved alone. You’ll need the help of others. And not just anyone can help you. They must be able to introduce you to the right people, take you to the right places, and give you the right advice. So who are these people?

They are not mentors. Mentors, for the most part, provide practice advice. They may have some career advice, but they probably don’t know you too well and they are too busy with their own lives.

What you want to look for is a sponsor. READ MORE AT ABOVE THE LAW

On the night of June 20, NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo made ratings history by reaching a whopping 1.4 million adults 18-49 in the 10 p.m. timeslot, almost doubling the numbers for archrival Univision and outperforming ABC and CBS among key demos.

The feat would later help propel Telemundo to become the No. 1 U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster for the first time in its history. READ MORE AT BROADCAST & CABLE

Hispanics are reshaping sports in America. With Hispanic Heritage Month upon us, SI is honoring the 30 most influential Latinos in sports who aren’t athletes: the coaches, journalists, CEOs and other innovators who shape American sports culture and industry.

This list, which is unranked, defines influence by how each person affects the fan experience. READ MORE AT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Even though the U.S. Latino population continues to grow, Hispanics remain disproportionately under-represented in the legal field.

While a law career can provide entrée into influential sectors of society, the academic requirements, long process, and high costs involved seem to be discouraging many Latinos from pursuing this career. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

BY JOE DYTON
Latino Leaders Magazine

Dr. Norman Ruano’s work for the Institute for Workforce Education, a division of St. Augustine College, is not just a job; it’s fulfilling a lifelong passion. Dr. Ruano was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and lived there until his early teens when he and his family moved to Chicago during the civil war. Influenced by having college professors and activists in his family, Dr. Ruano developed a penchant for education and advocacy on others’ behalf at an early age.

“When I was a kid, my grandmother used to organize protests to help the poor,” Dr. Ruano said. “I saw firsthand her understanding of people’s condition and dedication to do something about it. I always had a sense that we needed to do something to help others.”

Along with activism, Dr. Ruano took his education seriously. He studied social sciences in college. He continued studying the subject, earning a Master Degree and later a Doctorate in Sociology, with Summa Cum Laude honors, from Loyola University Chicago.

Feeling the need to understand life in the private sector, he began his professional career in business sales and management, before joining the City Colleges of Chicago. Here, he managed the workforce operations of Harry S. Truman College and later founded the Workforce Institute, where he served as Vice President. Through his leadership, hundreds of businesses in Illinois and other states in the country received strategic consulting and training, as well as workforce training funding from government agencies. He focused on bringing education to the workplace and on the development of programs to support Latinos in higher education.

Because of his interest in higher education and commitment to promote the progress of Latinos, Dr. Ruano transitioned to St. Augustine College (a Latino college), where he’s worked as Vice President for Workforce Development for almost a decade.

At St. Augustine college, Dr. Ruano’s mission was to create a workplace development program from a private, non-profit college perspective, focusing on serving the Latino community of Chicago and the state of Illinois.

As a result, the Institute for Workforce Education (IWE) was created. This college division is dedicated to helping the Latino community advance in the workforce and classroom in many different ways.

For example, a lot of immigrant and U.S. born Latinos join the workforce right away with a particular skill set. Once technology changes, however, they need to get new training to stay competitive with the rest of the workforce and to get promoted.

IWE fills this void by working with companies and non-profit organizations to secure funding and provide customized training to their most valuable resource, their employees. IWE offers customized training to meet the needs of different industries and management training for people who are employed with larger organizations but need help gaining the skills that will help them move up.

Dr. Ruano and his team have found that the language barrier can be an obstacle for a lot of people who need the training. So while IWE teaches hundreds of courses in English, they also offer them in Spanish, and even some in Polish. The Institute also partners with business associations to develop training programs for its members, with the objective of improving their management, organizational and business generation skills.

Recognizing that green technologies yield a lot of job opportunities, IWE partners with the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) to provide training programs to Latino contractors. The contractors are taught practices related to green construction and prepare to obtain the required certifications.

“Our intent is to ensure that our Latino companies develop the latest skills with the latest technology and techniques so when they go into the marketplace, they’re able to be competitive and have an upper hand,” Dr. Ruano said.

IWE’s work has garnered the attention of other organizations—including some in Latin America. A group of workforce partners, sponsored by the Chilean Department of Labor, called and brought them to Santiago in order to certify instructors on how to use American-based workforce education models (more skills focused).

IWE has now taken the step of publishing its own workforce training materials. “That is something that is very dear to my heart because it’s not about just doing it once, it’s about repeating it in every corner of this country,” Dr. Ruano said, adding “We make those resources available to other institutions or organizations to help transform people’s lives.”

Dr. Ruano could have continued on a more lucrative career path in medical technology, but all of the money in the world could not buy the satisfaction he gets by helping others succeed trough workforce training and higher education.

“What gives me the greatest satisfaction is that I know the education and training we’re giving our people is making a difference for them, their families, and their community” Dr. Ruano concluded.

The rich are becoming richer—or at least are adding to their ranks. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of affluent consumers—i.e., U.S. adults with a household income of $250,000 or more—jumped from just over 7 million to slightly above 14 million Americans, an increase of 91%. Market research firm Packaged Facts published these findings in the recent report Affluent Consumers: Demographic Patterns and Spending Trends, 7th Edition.

"Although affluent consumers currently comprise just 6% of the adult population, they accounted for 44% of growth in the adult population during the 2010 through 2016 period," says David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts.

Among the most important revelations found in the report is that the affluent consumer market segment has begun to reflect the ongoing change in the demographics of the American adult population as a whole. Namely, affluent multicultural households are on the rise and represent a growing opportunity. Packaged Facts' definition of multicultural consumers includes Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans, among other ethnic minorities. READ MORE AT PR NEWSWIRE

Three in five employees have experienced mental health issues in the past year because of work, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by charity Business in the Community. So what steps can be taken to improve wellbeing in the workplace?

Identify your triggers
Working out what triggers stress or poor mental health can help you anticipate problems and think of ways to solve them, says mental health charity Mind. READ MORE AT THE GUARDIAN

In some ways, American adults in 2017 are more connected than they have ever been. The proliferation of smartphones means many of us live with 24/7 access to social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, allowing us to stay updated on our friends' and family members' lives every hour of the day.

However, according to a study performed by the AARP, that virtual connection doesn't tend to translate to emotional fulfillment. Over 40 percent of adults in the United States report feeling lonely and isolated. READ MORE AT 9 WCPO CINCINNATI

Frustration over the persistent gender wage gap and how to fix it have followed women in the workforce for decades. From Sheryl Sandberg’s early days of “Lean In” to her subsequent acknowledgement that it’s not always that simple, the conversation about how to change the lack of women in the C-suite and what to do about maternity leave and the years that follow continue unabated.

But before women workers decide the glass ceiling on their career trajectory is unbreakable, consider these three women with inspiring careers that seem to defy the dire predictions. READ MORE AT LADDERS

Black and Latino representation has declined in Silicon Valley, and although Asians are the most likely to be hired, they are the least likely to be promoted, according to a new study exposing persistent racial prejudice in the tech industry.

The research from not-for-profit organization Ascend Foundation, which examined official employment data from 2007 to 2015, suggests that people of color are widely marginalized and denied career opportunities in tech – and that the millennial generation is unlikely to crack the glass ceiling for minorities. READ MORE AT THE GUARDIAN

As we enter into Hispanic Heritage month, a time to celebrate Latino culture, it is also a time to reflect on the Latino community as a whole. Though the Latino community is rich in cultures from across Latin America and known for a strong work ethic, we find that the Latino community in America is not rich in wealth.

Latino’s, today, are facing the consequences of decades’ long policy decisions that have disproportionately affected people of color. Recently released data by Prosperity Now shows that 60.7% of Latino households are liquid asset poor, compared to 50% of Black households, and 28% of White household. This means that more than half of Latino households wouldn’t be able to cover basic expenses for three months if they were to suffer a sudden financial crisis or, in other words, most Latinos are one crisis away from financial ruin. READ MORE AT HUFFPOST

“THE next mayor of Chicago will be Latino,” predicts John Hagedorn at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Latinos recently became the second-largest ethnic group in the city, accounting for 29.7% of the population, overtaking African-Americans (29.3%) and rivalling whites (32.6%).

For decades the local Democratic Party’s machine was able to ignore Latinos. Today this would be political suicide. READ MORE AT THE ECONOMIST

Want to be boss at being a boss?

It's not as simple as just being a good listener and making sure everyone shows up on time. Truly great managers attract the best workers. If you're good at being in charge, you hold onto star employees and advance their careers right along with yours.

Managing is not an easy skill, but it is possible to build. Even if you think you’re pretty great already, take a look at these tips and see whether you can improve in any particular area. Your employees will thank you, and so will your boss. READ MORE AT USA TODAY

We continue to see online shopping increase its share of overall shopping dollars year-over-year against traditional brick and mortar. Retailers have been adapting to this shift through a variety of strategic initiatives, mainly driven by the continual integration of a seamless online/offline purchase continuum. However, as we look more specifically at what categories of purchase items are shifting to online, we see that not all categories are shifting online. READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

For the fifth consecutive year, CNET en Español showcases the 20 most outstanding, creative and talented Hispanic professionals working in the US technology industry.

The 2017 list covers a wide range of positions, experience, skills and, of course, stories. It includes six women, along with other professionals hailing from, among other places, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Spain and the US. READ MORE AT CNET