Due to unexpected circumstances, Trustees and Conference Planning Committee of the Coalition for Hispanic/Latino Issues & Progress (CHIP) has decided to reschedule their 26^th Anniversary Hispanic Leadership Conference from April 27, 2024, to early 2025. All sponsorships received to date will be utilized for the conference as planned and will be held in abeyance until that time. With the exception of the forced rescheduling of the 25^th Anniversary conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this represents the only other rescheduling of the conference in the 26 years that the conference organizers have been planning and hosting the event.

Over the coming months CHIP plans to continue meeting with as many of its 63 collaborating partners and 44 Conference Sponsors to review the conference’s direction and gather input on ways we can ensure that we continue to meet the informational and strategic needs of conference attendees, youth, sponsors, and collaborators.

We will also be taking time to gather input from the community leading to new ways and additional tools we can utilize to present important issues so that they can be addressed in a unified and impactful manner. Issues such as human trafficking, mental health, suicide, immigration, AI, environmental concerns, upcoming changes in the workplace, the importance of civic engagement in today’s society and so many others can have a devastating impact on our community if left unaddressed. This is a large part of the CHIP mission, and we are determined to be as prepared as possible moving forward. For 25 years the conference organizers have sought to be as relevant as possible and for this reason and some unanticipated challenges we have decided to reschedule the conference to early next year.

We will continue this effort with a free viewing of the human trafficking production, “Sound of Freedom” at the Palace Theater on Friday, April 12, 2024, at 7:00pm.  This movie, based on real life events, stars Jim Caviezel as an individual who sets out to rescue children from human traffickers because, “God’s Children are Not for Sale”.  Please join us on April 12^th as together we face a reality which happens all around us on a daily basis. We will also host other similar activities as we prepare to better serve our community in 2025 with the 26^th Annual Hispanic Leadership Conference.

Please feel free to contact CHIP Trustee Michael Ferrer at 440-336-1501 if you have questions or ideas on issues needing to be addressed and available tools to ensure maximum impact on our conference attendees.