2011 Estrellas de Tejas

• Be a member of HWNT in good standing for at least one year
• Have demonstrated Leadership (Star) qualities
• Have had an impact in her community
• Be a role model for women
• Be present to receive the award at the HWNT State Conference

Monica Peña currently works for locally owned, family business Escobar Construction, LLC, www.escobarconstruction.com. Her husband and Monica started the company over 10 years ago and she is very well involved in the day to day activities of the company. She enjoys being a resource of knowledge and bridging connections from different businesses and organizations.

Monica currently serves the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as Social Media Ambassador and is the Charitable Events Committee Chair of the Interior Design Society Texas Hill Country Chapter with this year’s main project being a SafePlace family activity room redo. She found one of her passions was writing and is a contributing writer for The Austin Times Newspaper and La Voz Newspaper. She has served on committees for the following organizations: Y.W.C.A., Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Hispanic Futures Conference, and Las Comadres Para Las Americas. She has been honored with the Young Hispanic Professional Austin Association member of the Year award in 2009 and is currently on her second term as the organization’s vice president.

Councilwoman Nelda Martinez has a history of extensive volunteerism, community involvement and public service. She leads by example, with an open communication policy and works for the betterment of the community. She serves on the Corpus Christi City Council and as Mayor Pro-Tem on a rotating basis. Councilwoman Martinez serves on several organizations: Circle of Red-member/advocate- American Heart Association Southwest Affiliate; Clowns Who Care- Driscoll Children’s Hospital; Board Member- Foster Angels/South Texas-Supporting Foster Children, Former Board President- Palmer Drug Abuse Program; Former Trustee-Art Museum of South Texas; Bishop’s Guild Inaugural Organizer; Former Board Member- Del Mar College Foundation; Served on Corpus Christi Community Advisory Council- Texas A & M University Corpus Christi; Former Board Chair South Texas Public Broadcasting Systems, Former President- Executive Women International Corpus Christi Chapter. Councilwoman Martinez is President/CEO- Nueces Title and small business owner.

Councilwoman Martinez, the first Hispanic to take first place among at-large candidates. Unique record of service, leadership and advocacy has won her recognitions: Coastal Bend Area GI Forum Women’s Chapter –1999 Outstanding Business Woman of the Year, Small Business Administration- “Women in Business Champion”, YWCA- “Y Women in Careers Award”, 2001Del Mar College-Wall of Honor, HWNT-CC “2001Las Estrellas” Award,and Volunteer Center-2003 Sweetheart of the Year.

She chairs Texas Municipal League’s Policy Committee – Utilities/ Transportation, and serves on the State Board- Alliance of I-69 Texas, Board Member - Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition. Councilwoman Martinez is an advocate for our community and HWNT-Corpus Christi.

Angie Perez joined the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas-Dallas Chapter in 2007 and immediately became involved with the Education Seminar Series by serving as a volunteer chaperoning students on one of the buses. She went on to co-chair the program during the 2009-2010 academic school year and took great pride in helping to increase the number of students in attendance. In 2010-2011, she continued her involvement in the program by chairing the volunteer committee. Having become an HWNT member has been a blessing to Angie in that she has made many dear friends and grown both personally and professionally.

Angie is currently a human resources representative at Mission Foods/Gruma Corporation in Irving, Texas. She is a past board member of the North Texas Exes Collin County Chapter and has been a member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs for over eight years.

Angie began her higher education journey at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School; later earning a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing from the University of North Texas while married and raising a young daughter. In 2005 she fulfilled her goal of earning her Masters Degree of Business Administration (with a Human Resources concentration) from the University of Dallas – an achievement which made her family extremely proud, including her late father whom initially instilled in her the desire to pursue a higher education. Most recently Angie received her certification as a Professional in Human Resources.

Tomasa has owned her own company, TLG Language Resource & Training Center, in Denton, TX, since 1993. Serving primarily the Spanish speaking communities, TLG Language Resource and Training is an established support center with a variety of professional services, including: Immigration/Income Tax document preparation; Translations; since 1995, publisher of La Cronica Latina; Language Academy; GED Classes; Computer Classes; Consultation and support to the self employed and small business owners, including bookkeeping services. Her past experience and passion has always been education.

Tomasa is a founding member of the Denton chapter of HWNT and has stayed committed to its success. Besides HWNT, she was the Founder and past Chairman (1995-2000) of the Denton Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; TAMACC Past-Vice Chair for Networking; Communities In Schools, Denton Co, Founder; American Heart Association Board of Directors; Denton (LULAC), Co-Founder and past President and Artz & Jazz Festival Board of Directors.

Born in New York City, Lucie came from a large Puerto Rican family. The family moved back to Puerto Rico in 1961 where she finished high school and studied at the University of Puerto Rico. Lucie worked in newspaper advertising since 1968. In ’81 she moved to Texas looking to expand her horizons. Lucie was lucky and landed in DFW and worked at the Dallas Times Herald. This was a great break for her – it changed her life. In ’83, she met Robert Allen of Laredo, Texas, and fell in love. They were married 2 years later.

Lucie states, “Texas has been very good to me, the people who were my friends in 81 are still my friends today, Bob and I have celebrated our 26th anniversary, and now I am involved with a fabulous group of women whose works in educating young women heading for college (LIP program), sharing experiences with other Hispanic women (Mindshare) and giving out thousands of dollars in scholarships, have really inspired me.” Lucie is extremely proud of being a member of the Fort Worth Chapter of HWNT. Lucie says, “The women in this group make a difference in their communities, their work places and in the lives of others. I am honored to be a part of this great group, today Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas – tomorrow Hispanic Women’s Network of America.”

Cristina Castro Clark is the present Vice Chair of Marketing and Development of the HWNT Houston Chapter, as well as a member of the Education Committee. She is the owner of The Clark Designs, co-owner of Pinky Promise Photography and the Marketing Coordinator at Beyond Controls, Inc.

Cristina earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin and distinguished certification of Business Foundations from the McComb School of Business.

Cristina was selected for this award because of her unwavering commitment to the advancement of women through education. Over the last two years she has served as a role model to the young women that have participated in the Latinas Leading Latinas Educational Houston program. Specifically, she has continuously made time to assist the young women applying to college by reviewing their essays, resumes, and providing them with SAT preparatory material. She worked tirelessly through the course of the last year to help raise scholarship funds so that many young women could be provided assistance to pay for the high costs associated with obtaining an education.

Cristina’s professionalism and continued willingness to volunteer, support, and make herself available to the continued success of the HWNT educational program is the reason why the Houston Chapter believes she is an Estrella. The Houston Chapter is proud she is a member of the organization and attributes much of the chapter’s success to her talents and support.

Alma Ortega Johnson grew up in Chihuahua Mexico. She is a successful career woman working in the banking industry for almost 30 years. She has been a team member with Wells Fargo since 1999 and is currently the Community Banking President for the Upper Rio Grande Valley. Alma is passionate about serving her community. She is the upcoming Board President of the International Museum of Art and Science, and serves on the Boards of McAllen Chamber of Commerce and United Way of South Texas. She also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee for her church. Alma has been an active member of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas since 2008 where her participation has helped professional networking and fundraising and she has worked with the RGV Diabetes Association with their main fundraising event, “Dancing with the Stars”. In 2009, Alma graduated from Leadership McAllen Class XXVIII. She is a member of the South Texas College Banking Advisory Committee, International Women’s Board, McAllen Citizen League, and National Hispanic Professional Organization. Recently she was awarded with the Financial Services Champion of the Year by the Harlingen SBA and the Volunteer Service Award from Wells Fargo.

Nora I. Silva is the Sr. Director of Health Equity for the South Central Texas region of the American Heart Association. In this position Nora has worked to decrease health disparities by providing health education and promoting healthy lifestyles in the African American and Hispanic/Latino communities. Prior to joining the American Heart Association team, Nora promoted healthy lifestyles as a fitness instructor for 19 years. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Wellness Promotion from Texas State University and her Master’s of Public Administration with a certification in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Nora serves as the Chair for San Antonio Chapter of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas (HWNT). Nora also serves as the Education Committee Chair for San Antonio at the state level of HWNT. Since physical activity is an important part of a healthy community, she also leads free fitness classes at her home church, South San Filadelfia Baptist Church two days a week. Nora has been in San Antonio for six years and lives with her son Sergio and their dog Bailey. Her passion continues to be teaching and promoting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellness.

Read about our previous recipients