Thursday, May 25rd, 2023 – The Latino Economic Empowerment and Development (LEEAD) organization proudly held its inaugural and sold-out Latino-owned business networking event last Thursday, May 18th, 2023, at HK Hall in New York City. With over 200 business professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, community leaders, and city officials across New York State, the organization created a dynamic networking, collaboration, and empowerment platform.

LEEAD is an organization created by Latino business leaders and “seeks to enhance economic opportunities for the Latino community and contribute to its overall growth and development by providing tools, resources, and information about access to capital and procurement opportunities in the public and private sectors,” shared Carlos Rodriguez, LEEAD’s President. This effort is especially critical after Mayor Adam’s announcement of his goal of awarding $25 billion in contracts for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) by 2026. “With the growing number of Latino businesses continuing to support New York’s local economy and increasing city procurement opportunities, it is imminent to create a platform to educate, equip, and mentor Latino-owned businesses to grow and scale,” said Michelle Minguez, LEEAD’s Executive Director.

The event featured city officials who delivered powerful remarks addressing the needs of Latino-owned businesses. “In a city where Latinos represent 28% of the population, only 2% of Latina-owned and 11% of Latino-owned businesses have been awarded contracts under Local Law 1. This is unacceptable,” said New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) Director, Lisa Flores. “MOCS is proud to be the first City agency to partner with LEEAD to offer resources and training to empower the Latina/Latino-owned businesses that are fueling communities across the five boroughs. Over the course of the next months, we will facilitate seven training sessions to teach our Latinos how to do business with NYC. We believe in building an MWBE pipeline as diverse and robust as the City we serve.”

Henry Garrido, Executive Director of DC37, added: “The City of New York awards more than $30 billion in contracts annually, and just 2% of that is given to Latino and minority-owned businesses. That is nowhere near sufficient for the communities who make up the foundation of New York City. We demand a major change to the city’s procurement process— it’s essential to provide an equitable opportunity to participate in the city’s construction, operation, and evolution.”

Commissioner Kevin Kim passionately shared that “At Small Business Services, we are committed to working with every single person in this room, and you should all be MWBE certified through us, and once you are certified, we are going to help you get the contracts.” Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC Department Of Transportation Commissioner, added: “We need to uplift all of our communities and ensure the city continues investing in MWBE businesses.”

Michael Garner, Chief Business Diversity Officer of Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, gave reassurance that the Mayor’s goals will be met and said, “The Mayor has made it known, and it is going to happen that by 2026 we will award $25 billion to minority women-owned firms and $60 billion by 2030 with priority to Black, Hispanic and Asian American businesses. We are going to get it done so fasten your seatbelt.”

LEEAD thanks all of our partners in government and the business community for attending and lending their support and commitment. Together we will continue to advance a more equitable New York City, where Latino small businesses in particular will have greater participation in the procurement process and capital access. LEEAD remains committed to supporting Latino-owned businesses and fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. The organization will continue to organize events, workshops, and initiatives that encourage networking and advocacy, while promoting economic empowerment and development among the Latino community. The official launch will be announced in the coming weeks and will take place in the Fall.

The event program included:
LEEAD board of directors Carlos Rodríguez, President; Michelle Minguez, Executive Director; Bilcenia Cabreja, Treasurer; Susana Osorio, 1st Vice President; and Sojey Fernández, 2nd Vice President. As well as notable participants, including top officials, such as Ydanis Rodriguez, Commissioner NYC Department of Transportation (DOT); Vilda Vera Mayuga, Commissioner, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP); Molly Wasow Park, Commissioner, NYC Department of Social Services (DSS); Manuel Castro, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA); Anne Del Castillo, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME); David Do, Commissioner Taxi & Limousine (TLC); Michael Garner, Chief Business Diversity Officer; Lisa Flores, Chief City Procurement Officer; Kevin Kim, Commissioner Small Business Services; Michael Garner, Chief Business Diversity Officer, Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37; Jose Bayona, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Ethnic & Community Media (MOECM); Anthony Miranda, New York City Sheriff; Quemuel Arroyo, Chief Accessibility Officer NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and many more.

About LEED
Our mission is to empower Latino small businesses with economic development tools to grow and scale by providing advocacy, education, resources, and access to capital to leverage public and private procurement opportunities.
Our vision is to ensure Latino-owned businesses have equitable access to procurement opportunities in the public and private sectors.

To learn more about the Latino Economic Empowerment and Development (LEEAD) organization or about this event, please contact info@leeadny.org or visit us at https://leeadny.org/ @leeadny