AHEAD is soliciting nominations for members who might serve on the Executive Council next year. Please provide the name, contact information, and positions for ONE nominee that you wish the AHEAD members consider.  All individuals who (a) have been nominated and (b) confirm their desire to be included will be added to the ballot for the 2019 board. Individuals who choose to accept this nomination will also have the option of posting a statement for members to consider during the voting period.

     The nomination period closes December 5, 2018.

     You CAN nominate yourself. You CAN nominate more than one person, but please submit one form per person. You CAN submit the nominee for more than one position. A nominee can change their mind and/or reject the nomination.  Please contact Jorge.gonzalez2@usdoj.gov or Jorge.Castillo@crt.usdoj.gov with any questions about the nomination or election process.

     AHEAD will host a happy hour for members in the D.C. area on Thursday, November 29, 2018 so that members can meet in person, learn about the past year, and consider ways of supporting AHEAD in 2019. 

   

     On October 2, 2018, the Honorable Maria Chapa Lopez, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, delivered remarks in the Great Hall to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month and its theme, “Hispanics: One Endless voice to Enhance our Traditions."

     United States Attorney Chapa Lopez was introduced by remarks from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who took this opportunity to recognize the distinguished contributions made by Hispanic Americans across a variety of fields as well as to the mission of the Department of Justice.

     United States Attorney Chapa Lopez is a first-generation American, whose parents emigrated from Mexico.  After receiving her B.A. from the University of Texas, Ms. Chapa Lopez attended South Texas College of Law, where she was Assistant Editor of the Law Review.  From 2000 until 2016, Ms. Chapa Lopez worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.  She prosecuted transnational drug trafficking organizations, complex domestic narcotics trafficking, large-scale money laundering, and complex opioid cases.  From 2016 to 2018, Ms. Chapa Lopez served as the Department of Justice Deputy Attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, before being nominated and confirmed as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

   

     On July 10, 2018, AHEAD and the Diversity Committee of the National Security Division hosted the Hispanic National Bar Foundation's Future Latino Leaders Law Camp, which offers students the chance to come to D.C. and learn more about the college application process, meet influential Latino leaders, and tour national monuments and various government agencies. 

     A group of forty high school students from across the country were hosted in the Great Hall, where they had the opportunity to hear welcoming remarks from Patrick Bumatay of the Attorney General’s office and a panel consisting of attorneys from the Office of the Inspector General, the National Security Division's Office of Intelligence, and the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  The students heard about careers at the Department of Justice and the mission of the Department, and had the opportunity to ask a variety of questions about college, career choices related to careers in the law and law enforcement, and professional development generally.  

S.G. Noel Francisco @ 2018 DOJ Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Program

Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco to Provide Keynote Address at the 2018 DOJ Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Observance Program 

To acknowledge the important contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to our Nation and the Justice Department, the Department of Justice will hold its annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Observance Program from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Thursday, May 24, 2018, in The Great Hall, Robert F. Kennedy Main Justice Building.  The National theme for this year’s observance month is "Unite Our Vision by Working Together." 

During the program, DOJ employees will hear special remarks from Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, and the program keynote speaker, the Honorable Noel J. Francisco, Solicitor General of the United States.  Mr. Francisco was sworn in as the 48th Solicitor General of the United States on September 19, 2017.  To learn more about Solicitor General Francisco’s distinguished career, please visit https://www.justice.gov/osg/staff-profile/meet-solicitor-general. 

For additional information, please contact Sylvia Price, Asian American and Pacific Islander Program Manager, Justice Management Division (JMD) Equal Employment Opportunity Staff (EEOS), via email at Sylvia.Price@usdoj.gov.  To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Granette Trent, Assistant Director for Affirmative Employment, JMD EEOS, via email at Granette.Trent@usdoj.gov.

The program will be broadcast live via the Justice Television Network (JTN).  

Professional Development: A Dialogue with Former Senior Department Officials

The Criminal Division invites all DOJ employees to a leadership forum hosted by the CRM Diversity Committee and Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan.  Please join us for this panel discussion with four distinguished former DOJ leaders covering such topics as defining leadership and measuring success, the importance of mentors, overcoming obstacles, and what it means to have a commitment to diversity.  Registration is requested; please register here.

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A Dialogue with Former Senior Department Officials—Alice Fisher, 

Channing Phillips, Mythili Raman, and Debra Wong Yang

Friday, April 27, 2018 

12 PM-1:30 PM

RFK Main Justice Department Building

Great Hall – Second Floor

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530

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Mentorship Program Applications Open Now!

We are now accepting applications through Monday, April 23, 2018, from both mentors and mentees for its 2018 mentorship program!  The mentorship program is open to all DOJ employees and alumni.  We have already begun to receive interest from a diverse group people and hope that we will be able to provide mentorship opportunities to a wide variety of individuals across fields of practice and located throughout the country.

We view the mentorship program as an important means of actively promoting diversity in the federal government by providing professional development opportunities to Hispanics in DOJ – and we hope and expect that it will be a personally and professionally rewarding experience for our mentors and mentees alike.  The program is mentee-driven, meaning mentees are responsible for reaching out to mentors, getting on their calendars, and making sure they get the most out of this program.  Mentees will learn how to define career goals, strategize, and identify options.  Additionally, mentors and mentees will enhance their knowledge of the Department and grow professionally and personally. 

To learn more, join us for a kick-off happy hour Thursday, April 19, at Flight (777 6th St NW) at 5:30pm.  Mentors and mentees from past years will be there to share their experiences.  Or contact contact Jennifer Mondino, DOJ AHEAD’s Director of Professional Development, at 202-305-3176 or at dojahead@gmail.com (mention “Mentorship” in the subject line). 

To participate as either a mentor or a mentee, please take 4 minutes to fill out this application form.

We look forward to another great year of the DOJ-AHEAD Mentorship Program!

Happy Hour Back On, Thu. Apr. 19 @ Flight Wine Bar

Happy hour is rescheduled!  Join us this Thursday, April 19, at 5:30pm at:

777 6th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

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     Thanks to all the DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other colleagues able to make it out to Flight!

DC Happy Hour POSTPONED

For those of you in the D.C. area, I hope you will be able to join us on for a happy hour at Flight (777 6th Street NW) starting at 5:30 p.m. to meet old friends and meet new members of AHEAD. 

TO BE RESCHEDULED. 

Greetings from the 2018 AHEAD board!

Everyone,

Allow me to introduce myself, and the members of AHEAD's board of directors for 2018.  I'm really pleased to be working with a talented group of colleagues who serve in a variety of roles and divisions within DOJ.  We are all located in the Washington, D.C. area, but are interested in working closely with AHEAD members across the country to strengthen our organization and provide networking and professional development opportunities in the year ahead. 

It’s been two months since our election so my personal apologies for the delay in writing.  It’s my privilege to be working with all of you and I hope to meet many of you over the coming year.  The 2018 board listed on the right column of this page (with email links), and I hope that you’ll reach out to me or us with any interests or programming ideas you have.

For those of you in the D.C. area, I hope you will be able to join us on Thursday, March 22nd for a happy hour at Flight (777 6th Street NW) starting at 5:30 p.m. to meet old friends and meet new members of AHEAD.  We hope that you can make it.

So far in 2018, we've already been able to work with other employee groups to reach out to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General with some thoughts on specific diversity programs and initiatives on which we can work together in the upcoming year.  As we hear from, and work with, leadership on these issues we will be sure to keep you all posted.  Please reach out to me to hear more about this joint effort and the inter-affinity groups’ joint letter to the Department leadership, especially if you may be interested in working on this effort on more generally on AHEAD’s work to promote Hispanic recruitment, retention and promotion within the Department.

One area in which we'll also be reaching out in the near future is AHEAD's mentorship program for 2018, one of AHEAD’s flagship programs.  For those of you who participated -- either as mentors or mentees -- in previous years, we'd love to hear your feedback and to ask whether you would be interested in serving in the same or a different role in the upcoming year.  Please be on the lookout for a call or email from members of the board who will be working on this program.

Finally - a few requests, please. 

Regarding new members - If you have colleagues who may be interested in joining AHEAD and receiving future messages about our programming, please have them contact myself or AHEAD’s Secretary Ivette Estrada.  We’re open to all interested members of the DOJ community, and the more diverse our own membership the stronger I believe we will be.

Regarding the AHEAD mentorship program -- if you know of colleagues who may be interested in participating in AHEAD's mentorship program for the upcoming year as a mentor or mentee, please have them contact myself or AHEAD’s Professional Development chair Jennifer Mondino.

We all look forward to working with you and hearing from you in the upcoming year, and hope to see many of you on the 22nd.  As these and future programs kick off, please keep an eye out for future messages.  If any of you no longer want to receive these messages, of course, please let me know.

Best,

Jorge Gonzalez