Mr. Salvador Gomez is the chief architect and visionary of the Hispanic BIC. He proposed the concept several years ago to Western Union’s then CEO, Charlie Fote, who initially committed close to $1 million to develop the BIC and asked Mr. Gomez to serve as a board member for the Empowerment Fund.
Since then, the Hispanic BIC continues to be funded by Western Union and is supported by a $3.3 million multi-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Mr. Gomez also served as the first President of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Michael Barrera
President
Mr. Michael L. Barrera is the President of the Hispanic BIC. In this role, Mr. Barrera coordinates all Hispanic and small business outreach, as well as the evolving development and rollout of the website. Mr. Barrera brings a wealth of experience to the Hispanic BIC in both the small business and Hispanic communities.
He previously served as the President of USHCC where under his leadership the Chamber broke records for funding and programming. Prior to that, he served as the National Ombudsman for the Small Business Administration. He currently sits on the Board of the Statute of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation.
Fred Niehaus
Board Member
Fred Niehaus is Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs with Western Union in Englewood, Colorado and is a member of the corporate senior management team. Mr. Niehaus is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to reach Western Union’s various constituencies, including legislators, policymakers, regulators, community groups and consumers concerning public policy issues that affect the company.
Sherri Vasquez
Board Member
Sherri Vasquez, host and producer of the nationally broadcast program Latin View on PBS, has extensive experience in print and television news. A Colorado native, her newspaper background includes reporting and editing positions with the Rocky Mountain News, The Coloradoan in Fort Collins, the bilingual weekly La Voz Hispana de Colorado, The Boulder Courant and The Westminster Window.
Hector Barreto
Board Member
In July 2001, Hector Barreto was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 21st administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Currently, Mr. Barreto is the Chairman of the Latino Coalition where he will be representing Latino interests with senior executives of many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, both federal and local. The Coalition has assumed a significant bi-partisan political posture and endorses policies and candidates consistent with the interests of the Latino constituency.
