With great music and great food, the National Latino Education Institute honored new and emerging Latino leaders at its fourth annual Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month on Monday at John Barleycorn, 149 W. Kinzie Ave. The event featured special guests Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs, and was hosted by event co-emcees Dan Ponce, co-anchor of the WGN 9 Morning News, and Anthony Ponce, co-anchor and general assignment reporter for NBC 5 Chicago. The event honored NLEI Emerging Leader Award recipients Tina M. Fresco, Vice President of Nielsen, and Ezequiel Flores, CEO of Flying Retail LLC.

“Tina has worked relentlessly at Nielsen to help them understand the intricacies of Latino communities in all of the U.S. markets. Thanks to her leadership and pioneering thinking, she was recently promoted to Nielsen’s Vice President of U.S. Community Alliances, Events and Engagement,” said NLEI Executive Director Elba Aranda-Suh. “We are proud to honor her this year. “We have seen Zeke work hard and grow businesses at a young age, and mentored by Chicago’s top leaders. Today, he is already a global business leader who has achieved outstanding success in both national and international markets of the food industry. Zeke’s family roots in entrepreneurial pursuits are evident. He is truly one of our own, a home-grown hero and trailblazer, who inspires us all. We are incredibly proud of him, and are going to see so much more from Zeke in the decades to come.” Now in its 43rd year, NLEI’s mission is to connect trained individuals with in-demand jobs, to forge strong partnerships with business, and anticipate the needs of industry by increasing the supply of skilled professionals.