USAO-DC Hosting Hispanic Heritage Month Program on September 29, 2017

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, United States Attorney's Office for the District will welcome this year’s guest speaker, Alejandro N. Mayorkas.  Mr. Mayorkas is currently a partner at the law firm WilmerHale and has previously held several high-level federal government positions, including serving as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.  Please consider joining for what promises to be an informative and insightful look into his career.

When: Friday, September 29, 2017 at noon

Where: Moot Courtroom, USAO-DC, 555 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530

BOP Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

On September 19, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month.The program included DOJ-AHEAD Chair Carmen Banerjee as a speaker.  Carmen discussed the the challenge of  underrepresention of Hispanics in federal government from the 1990s through today.  Carmen also shared DOJ-AHEAD’s priorities and goals, including how its committees advance those priorities and goals, specifically through programming.  A special thanks to JoHanna Hall and Victoria Harding for allowing DOJ-AHEAD to be involved with the program.

Below are some of the resources Carmen shared during the event:

• For information about all the employee affinity groups at the Department, please see the Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity Staff’s (EEOS) internet page: https://dojnet.doj.gov/diversity/orgs.php

• Would you like to find out more about DOJ-AHEAD, including how to join our organization? Please check out our blog page at: https://doj-ahead.blogspot.com/ You will also find:
• Pictures and news about some of our events.
• Presentation materials for the Senior Executive Service (SES) Panel on July 18, 2017 that DOJ-AHEAD co-sponsored with the EEOS of the Department.

• Statistic in most recent government report. As of FY 2015 according to the Office of Personnel Management:
• Total number of employees overall who serve in the Senior Executive Service (SES): 7,696
• Total number of Hispanics in SES positions: 342 (or 4.4%).
  See FY 2015 OPM report on Employment of Hispanics in Federal Government; https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/diversity-and-inclusion/reports/hispanic-report-2016.pdf

From Left: Steve Mora, Assistant Director, Program Review Division; Carmen M. Banerjee, Chair of DOJ-AHEAD; Mark S. Inch, Director of Bureau of Prisons; Mina Raskin, EEO Officer; Ben Caraballo, Affirmative Employment Officer

Professional Development: How to Become a Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Professional Development: The DOJ Association of Hispanic Employees for Advancement and Development (DOJ-AHEAD) is pleased to host a presentation to learn about the process of applying for a judicial vacancy on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and efforts by the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (JNC) to enhance the diversity of the pool of applicants.  The program features Katherine L. Garrett, Executive Director of JNC.

Date and Time:  Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location:  Judiciary Center Building, 555 4th Street, NW, Room 6310, Washington, DC 20001 (Hewitt Training Room)

There is no need to R.S.V.P.; you may just show up!  For additional information, please contact Cathy Meza, DOJ-AHEAD Director of Professional Development, by email at catherine.meza@usdoj.gov.

Feliz Hispanic Heritage Month!

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30 day period.

From www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov, a Web portal made collaboratively by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.  There is a lot of great stuff on that website, so check it out!