WASHINGTON: The Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation has tapped a
longtime Washington, DC public relations practitioner, Antonio Tijerino,
as its new executive director.
The decision to put a PR person in the leadership position was no
accident, according to HHAF founder and past executive director Elaine
Dagen Bella.
"The mission of the foundation is to promote Hispanic excellence and to
provide role models within the community, and that's a PR function," she
said. "It's also a function of somebody who has the heart and soul of
the Hispanic community, and Tony has both of those."
Tijerino, 40, has spent the last three years as director of public
relations at the Fannie Mae Foundation, the charitable arm of the Fannie
Mae Corporation.
Prior to that, he was manager of corporate communications at Nike.
He helped launch the Washington, DC office of Cohn & Wolfe after
spending six years with sister agency Burson-Marsteller, where he moved
from the grassroots department to consumer accounts such as Coke and
Bell Atlantic.
Past honorees of the 15-year-old HHAF include Placido Domingo, Anthony
Quinn, and Christina Aguilera. An awards show is held annually to honor
recipients.
