[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF JUANA BORDAS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Juana Bordas, 
President of Mestiza Leadership International, and in recognition of 
her dedication, advocacy, and promotion of leadership in the Hispanic 
Community.
  Juana Bordas, is a national speaker and trainer who has worked 
tirelessly to promote leadership skills in minority communities since 
the beginning of her illustrious career. Her vision enabled her to 
found several important organizations and programs. In 1977, she 
founded what is now considered a national model of women's empowerment, 
Mi Casa Women's Center in Denver, Colorado, where she served until 
1986. Mrs. Bordas is also the founding President and CEO of the 
National Hispana Leadership Institute, the only program of its kind in 
the United States that prepares Latina women for national leadership. 
Through this program, Mrs. Bordas partners with Harvard's JFK School of 
Government and Center for Creative Leadership to provide training for 
Hispanic women. She is also currently serving as President of Mestiza 
Leadership International, a unique company that focuses the promotion 
and fostering of leadership, diversity and organizational change.
  A former Peace Corps volunteer, Mrs. Bordas has served as advisor to 
Harvard's Hispanic Journal on Public Policy and the Kellogg National 
Fellows Program. She was also a former faculty member for the Center 
for Creative Leadership (CCL), where she guided and mentored students 
in the Leadership Development Program, which is considered the most 
utilized executive training program in the world. She is currently the 
Vice President of the board of Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership 
and a trustee of the International Leadership Association. Mrs. Bordas 
has inspired countless readers through many of her publications and 
essays including, ``Passion and Power: Finding Personal Purpose'', an 
essay in ``Reflections on Leadership'' and is a contributing author to 
``Leadership in the 21st Century'' in the book ``Rethinking 
Leadership''. She has been recognized for her innovative and important 
work on empowering members of minority communities by numerous 
organizations and institutions. She has been inducted into the Colorado 
Women's Hall of Fame, is the recipient of the Wise Woman Award from the 
National Center for Women's Policy Studies; the Franklin Miller Award 
from the U.S. Peace Corps and the 2006 Leadership Legacy Award from 
Spellman College's Center for Leadership. She was one of fifty leaders 
chosen by the Colorado Legislature to design the state's future plan 
and was selected by Colorado Business Magazine as one of the top one-
hundred influential people in the state.

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