The ceremony will take place at the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala.
The 2013 Steering Committee of the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala (MCEHG) announces that United States Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez will be the recipient of the “Public Service Award”.
Secretary Perez will be presented with the award during the gala celebration on September 12, 2013 to take place at The Fillmore Silver Spring, MD.
Thomas E. Perez was nominated by President Obama to serve as the nation’s 26th Secretary of Labor, and was sworn in on July 23, 2013.
“We are delighted that Secretary Perez will honor us by accepting this award. Secretary Perez has spent his entire career in public service. He was the first Hispanic elected to the Montgomery County Council and has taught at the University of Maryland School of Law. He is part of our community and understands the challenges faced by Latino students seeking higher education in our State,” said Lorna Virgili, 2013 MCEHG Chair.
Previously, Perez served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as the Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Maryland’s DLLR protects consumers through the enforcement of a wide range of consumer rights laws. He also co-chaired the Governor’s Council for New Americans, which designed a comprehensive blueprint for ensuring that immigrants living and working in Maryland are a vital component of the state’s economic engine.
Secretary Perez received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1983. In 1987 he received both a master’s of public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.
The Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala is a volunteer-run event committed to assisting Hispanic youth achieve a high level of education. Funds raised support the Maryland Hispanic Achievement Scholarship Program which provides financial assistance to Hispanic students enrolled in Maryland higher learning institutions.
The Executive’s Hispanic Gala will serve to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland.
To become an event sponsor or to purchase tickets, visit: www.montgomeryhispanicgala.org
The Montgomery Hispanic Gala Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (CFNCR), under the care of The Community Foundation for Montgomery County affiliate.
www.montgomeryhispanicgala.org
