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Leslie Sanchez
Former Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans


It's not every day that a person can go from selling encyclopedias door-to-door to advising the president of the United States on Hispanic education to baking cakes for Martha Stewart - but Leslie Sanchez did it all and made it look easy.

As the founder and CEO of Impacto Group LLC, one of the few woman-owned communications and market research firms in the United States, Leslie has become a much sought-after voice on social and economic trends affecting women and the emerging U.S. Hispanic community. Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the nation's "100 Most Influential Hispanics."

Politicking with kick. Leslie's private counsel is frequently sought by Fortune 100 firms while her public analysis has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, UPI and U.S. News & World Report, as well as the Fox News Channel, NBC, ABC, Univision, Telemundo and leading PBS programs, including News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Tavis Smiley and To the Contrary. Leslie also appears as a candidate in the inaugural year of The Apprentice - Martha Stewart on NBC.

Her expertise carries over into the political arena as well. Leslie tackled some of the most difficult issues before Congress as an aide to Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas - where she worked on high-profile immigration and border security legislation. She was often assigned to work with the staff of House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. and is credited with helping House Republicans "put the foundation together" for their Hispanic outreach efforts.

A veteran of political and grassroots campaigns at all levels, in 2000 Leslie's portfolio included developing and executing the Republican Party's first-ever multi-million dollar advertising campaign aimed directly at Hispanic voters.

Leveling playing fields. In 2001, Leslie was named executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. In this role, she served as the President's point-person on education issues impacting the Hispanic community. Under her direction, the task force she led built a grassroots network of 20,000 parents, educators and students. She monitored and evaluated Hispanic participation in education programs for 29 federal departments and agencies totaling over $110 million. Leslie also negotiated strategic partnerships between 30 Fortune 500 companies, grant-making foundations, government agencies and trade associations.

In addition, Leslie has been featured at Harvard University's ARCO Forum of Public Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, and served as an ex-officio member of the President's Task Force on the Status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico .

A graduate of The George Washington University (which she paid for by selling the aforementioned encyclopedias), Leslie also holds an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and serves on the Boards of Providence Health Foundation and the Greater Washington Ibero Chamber of Commerce.

"There is tremendous opportunity for this country with respect to diversity."
District of Columbia
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