The prestigious Georgetown University will be the host on September 18, Friday at 2 P.M. The panelists are: Luis Gilberto Murillo, Marc Chernick and Daniel Pacheco.

One of the main events in the Afro-Colombian mission within the 45th annual Congressional Black Caucus conference will be this panel, touching upon the subject of protecting the Afro budget in the Colombia Plan in face of the cuts that it has been suffering.

With the support of the Center for Latin American Studies from Georgetown University, the panel will reunite opinion leaders, academics and students to establish a precedent for future reference in the public discussion of the subject.

The panelists will express points of view coming from the Colombian government, the international academia and independent analysts.

Luis Gilberto Murillo, Head of the Presidential Program for the Pacific Coast, and also one of the pioneers in Afro-Colombian advocacy in Washington, will be the Colombian government’s voice.

Daniel Pacheco, columnist for El Espectador and reporter for Colombian radio and television in Washington for the last four years, will present a viewpoint based on research and journalistic coverage.

And Marc Chernick, well informed about Colombia and a distinguished american scholar, will give his viewpoint from the academic position.

Professor Chernick is the head of the Center for Latin American Studies in Georgetown and is also head of the Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Program from Universidad de los Andes and Georgetown.

Translator: Alejandro Maldonado.

Misión Colombia Members

Luisa Pino will be the representative in the area of Business and Consumer Finance.  CPA, MBA. Specialices in corporate taxation. Has 8+ years of experience working for multinational consultancy firms in the US and India. Both Bachelors and Masters degrees from the United States.

Luis Felipe Posso will represent the Misión in the area of sports. He is a former athlete and businessperson in the area of sports; he is also a member of the FIFA and the IAAF.

In the realm of Education and Science and Technology, the following professionals will be in representation:

Hugo Caicedo, Ph.D. in biomedical technology from the University of Illinois in Chicago and scientific researcher in Johnson & Johnson;

Antonio Copete, Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Harvard University and researcher in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and;

Bonnie Prado, doctoral candidate in Astrodynamics and Spatial Applications in the School of Aeronautics & Astronautics at Purdue University, Indiana.

Yancili Lozano,  pursues a Ph.D in Urban and Regional Planning at the Florida State University with an emphasis in planning for developing areas and marginalized communities.

In the area of Public Health, the representatives will be Gustavo Aguilar, surgeon and Head of Asmet Salud and Farith Diaz, Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering at the University of Texas in Austin and expert in the impact of mining-based mercury on the environment.

Elsi Gabriela Angulo, social activist, former district attorney currently exiled in Canada, and author of “Revelaciones de una Fiscal Amenazada” (Revelations of a Threatened District Attorney), will be the representative in the area of social movement.

Apart from representing the various sectors that are important for Afro-Colombians, the delegates will also attend meetings with the Committee of the Civil Society of the United States, the main players in the U.S.-Colombia Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality (CAPREE) that has already ratified by both nations.

Furthermore, the Misión Colombia will attend meetings with the Colombian Ambassador to the U.S., Juan Carlos Pinzón, representatives from the Bank of Inter-American Development along with other meetings programmed in Georgetown and Howard Universities.

Translator: Jeremy L. McNeal, Ph.D.