LAM Honors MEDA as “The Community Organization of the Year"

LAMMEDA was honored to rack up a “W,” as in a win, at the W Hotel in San Francisco Friday night. This was the stylish venue for the “2nd Annual LAM Community Awards,” with MEDA being chosen “The Community Organization of the Year.” LAM deemed the winner in that category as “that special organization that has been indispensable in promoting the well being of people and who is a leader in their field.”

An equally stylish crowd of over 500 dressed to the nines for “LAM’s 7th Year Anniversary Celebration.” Representing MEDA was Policy Manager Gabriel Medina (photo front row, far left). The awards ceremony was part of this anniversary gala, with San Francisco Bay Area Latino professionals out in force to mingle and share ideas on how to best serve the community.

LAM’s genesis was In 2007, when founder Giovanni Dubois, an engineering graduate student at UC Berkeley, channeled his wanting to connect with like-minded Latinos into dinners and parties in his home. Larger social gatherings throughout the Bay Area were soon occurring. There are currently almost 9,000 members of LAM, with a growing national focus.

LAM claims to “distinguish itself from other organizations by selectively targeting highly educated Latinos and providing them with upscale and professional online and offline networking opportunities.”

MEDA was in good company in the “The Community Organization of the Year” category, with Street Level Health Project and the Mexican Museum also justly nominated.

Oakland’s Street Level Health Project is a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of underserved urban immigrant communities in the Bay Area.

The Mexican Museum–around for almost four decades and in association with the Smithsonian–is located in San Francisco’s Fort Mason and will soon be moving to Yerba Buena Gardens. The museum houses 14,000 objets d’art that showcase the breadth of the history of Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, Popular, Modern and Contemporary Mexican/Latino and Chicano art.

States MEDA’s Medina, “It is an honor for MEDA’s asset-building work to be recognized by LAM. Our organization strives every day to help families achieve economically and for their kids to succedd academically. The two other nominees in this category are doing amazing work, so kudos to them as well.”

2b358f6MEDA Board Member Jesse Martinez was honored as a finalist as “The Activist of the Year.” Martinez was recognized for co-founding a number of innovative nonprofits: Latino Startup Alliance, a global organization supporting tech entrepreneurship; Avion Ventures, the first global startup pre-accelerator focused specifically on launching and abetting the growth of Latina-led mobile first startups; and Youth Startups, introducing tech entrepreneurship to youth in underrepresented U.S. public schools.

Fancy attire relegated to the back of the closet for a while, attendees are now back at work, rolling up their sleeves and strategizing on how to foster the growth of the Latino community.

MEDA is proud to be part of the powerful LAM network.