Dubester among Eight Carolinians Honored at the 2004 Latino Diamante Awards
Press Release: Diamante, Inc.
CARY, NC OCTOBER 18, 2004 – On Saturday, October 16, Diamante Inc. presented North Carolina’s most prestigious Hispanic event – the 9th Latino Diamante Awards, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in RTP, NC.
Diamante, Inc. organizes these awards to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the Hispanic/Latino community of North Carolina. It also praises Hispanics whose success help to enhance the image of the Hispanic community.
Close to 300 people attended the 2004 Diamante Awards’ presentation. The winners were selected by a committee of five people of different ethnic and professional backgrounds. “It is a great pleasure to honor individuals and organizations whose significant contributions impact the lives of Hispanics/Latinos in our state,” said Lizette Cruz-Watko, founder. “It is our way of thanking them for their contributions for making North Carolina a better place to live for thousands of Hispanics.”
Among the eight honorees was Ilana Dubester from Chatham County, who received an award for Community Involvement. At the ceremony, Ms. Dubester said, “It is my great fortune and privilege to be able to contribute to the advancement of our Latino community, and I hope to continue to be of service for many more years”. Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Dubester is the founder and immediate past Executive Director of El Vínculo Hispano, a non-profit advocacy and service organization based in Siler City.
Currently, Ms. Dubester serves as the Program Coordinator for Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), a transnational organization headquartered in San Francisco. HIP is implementing an initiative called the Funders Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities that is designed to strengthen Latino organizations through capacity building grants and trainings. Ilana is the only staff member in North Carolina with an office in Pittsboro. In 2004, HIP together with its 18 local and statewide funding partners, awarded over $1,000.00 in capacity building grants to 22 Latino-led organizations across the state. As Program Coordinator, Ms. Dubester assists the local funders with all grant-making activities and offers technical assistance and trainings to Latino non-profits in North Carolina. For more information about Hispanics in Philanthropy, please contact Ilana at 919-542-5538 or ilana@hiponline.org.
Ilana Dubester moved to the Chatham County in 1991 and since 1995, she has devoted her time and energy to improving the lives of Latino immigrants through her work and volunteer affiliations. In 1998, Ilana was appointed by Governor Hunt to the Governor’s Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, where she continues to serve under Governor Easley. Currently, Ilana also serves in the Administrative Office of the Courts Foreign Language Task Force, and is a board member of the NC Center for Justice and Community Development.
Ilana is a NC Certified Spanish/English Court Interpreter and a William C. Friday Fellow with the Wildacres Leadership Initiative, a distinguished 2-year race relations and leadership development program. Ilana is originally from Brazil and in 1996 she became a US citizen. She holds an Associate Degree in Social Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel and is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew.
The other seven honorees of the 2004 Latino Diamante Awards were:
• Arts & Culture: Pepe Caudillo - Editor of La Conexión Spanish-Language Newspaper (Raleigh, NC).
• Business: Tanya Riemer - Mortgage Account Executive, Bank of America (Chapel Hill, NC).
• Education: Manuel Cruz - Coordinator/Instructor, North Carolina Justice Academy (Asheville, NC).
• Health & Science: North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation (Statewide).
• Latino Advocate: Congressman David Price - U.S. House of Representatives (Chapel Hill, NC).
• Youth Accomplishment: Deyanira Chavez - Freshman, UNC at Charlotte (Asheville, NC).
• Lifetime Achievement: John A. Herrera - Vice President for Latino Affairs, Center for Community Self-Help (Chapel Hill, NC)
NBC 17 News Anchor Monty Knight served as master of ceremony with Mr. Marcelo. Gaete, from the NALEO Education Fund, as keynote speaker. Mr. Gaete spoke about the impact Latino have, and why Hispanics must be taken into account in the upcoming presidential elections.
The event was underwritten by Altria Group, Inc., Anheuser-Busch and Bank of America with the support of Progress Energy, La Conexión Newspaper, WUVC Univision 40 and others. Musical guest included Singer Alex Ruiz and Orquesta Color Latino. If you would like more information about Diamante Inc., please contact Lizette Cruz-Watko at 919-852-0075 or latinodiamante@mindspring.com.