At our annual HBC Scholarship Foundation Gala, we choose several individuals/companies to recognize as leaders in the community and mentors to our youth. This year’s honorees include……
Ivette R. Alvarez: Esq.,
Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost
Ivette R. Alvarez received her B.A. with Honors from the State University of New York at Albany and attended Columbia University School of Law, where she earned her J.D. Ms. Alvarez was admitted to practice law in New Jersey and New York. She currently holds the position of counsel at the firm of Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost P.C. in Denville, New Jersey where she concentrates her practice in civil litigation with an emphasis on matrimonial and family law.
Ms. Alvarez is a recipient of the 2005 Professional Lawyer of the Year by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law, the 2007 Annual Legislative Recognition Award by the New Jersey State Bar Association, the 2007 Tribute to Women Award by the Patriots’ Path Council and the 2009 Power of Women Award by Latinas United for Political Empowerment.
Ms. Alvarez is a member of the New Jersey State and Morris County Bar Associations. In 2006 - 2007, she served as Chair to the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Section. Ms. Alvarez also served as the President of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey in 2006 - 2007 and in 2008-2009, served as Vice President of Membership of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Ms. Alvarez currently serves as Trustee-At-Large to the New Jersey State Bar Association and Northern Chair of the State Bar Association’s Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. She has recently appointed to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court Board of Continuing Legal Education.
Ms. Alvarez is a member of the Board of Legal Services of New Jersey and a former member of the Board of the New Jersey State Bar Association Foundation, the Morris County Organization of Hispanic Affairs and the Resource Center for Women.
Ms. Alvarez was appointed by the Chief Justice to serve on several Supreme Court committees including the Family Law Practice Committee, the Skills and Methods Ad Hoc Committee, the Family Division Practice Sub-Committee on Child Support and the Custody and Parenting Time Subcommittee. Ms. Alvarez is former Chair of the State Bar Association's By-Laws Committee. She formally served on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Legislative Committee, MAPS Committee, MIPS Committee and Diversity Committee. She is also a former member of the Essex County Bar Association and a former Union County matrimonial Early Settlement Panelist.
Ms. Alvarez lectures and appears as panelist on family law issues for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Essex County Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and the Hispanic Bar Foundation. She has presented at the 2000 and 2002 Family Law Bench - Bar Conference and has been a member of the 2004, 2005 and 2007 Family Law Symposium.
Luis Diaz: Esq.,
GIBBONS
Luis J. Diaz has over 20 years of extensive experience in a wide range of complex matters including intellectual property law, technology related joint ventures and strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing, and government relations. Mr. Diaz provides legal and business counsel to business units in the United States and abroad on commercial and intellectual property matters and is experienced with diversified industries in both private and publicly traded companies. Mr. Diaz currently represents foreign corporations from Spain, Central America, South America and India in the United States.
Prior to joining Gibbons, Mr. Diaz was Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel with IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT). He founded the intellectual property group at IDT. Mr. Diaz managed and oversaw a staff of six IP professionals on a wide range of matters worldwide, including without limitation, software and technology licensing, patent litigation, patent procurement and portfolio development strategies, trademark prosecution, patent clearance studies, and technology-related mergers and acquisitions, especially in telecommunications-related fields. Mr. Diaz also served on the Technology Committee to the IDT Board of Directors. He was also an advisor to the government relations team. Mr. Diaz holds a J.D. degree from Rutgers University School of Law and a B.S. Cook College, Rutgers University.
Cid Wilson:
Kern, Suslow Securities LLC
Cid Wilson is the Sr. Vice President & Retailing Equity Analyst for Kern Suslow Securities, an investment firm based in New York, NY. He has worked in the financial services industry since 1993. In 2006, Wilson was ranked #1 financial analyst in his field by Forbes in its annual ranking of the Best Wall Street Financial Analysts in America. He serves on the Ethnic Advisory Board for PepsiCo Inc.
In addition to his corporate energies, he serves on the boards of directors of some of the leading non-profit organizations in the nation including LatinoJustice PRLDEF since 2005, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) since 2008, and Dominicans On Wall Street (DOWS) since its founding in 1997. He is the former National President of the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) from 2003 to 2007.
Wilson resides in New Jersey where he is a dedicated community leader. He is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Bergen Community College and he's the Chairman of the Board of the Bergen County Relief Center. He serves on the State Board of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.
In September 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Wilson to serve on the National Museum of the American Latino Study Commission with the mission of presenting a plan to the President on the proposed creation and construction of a museum to capture the 500 years of history of Latinos in U.S.
Wilson's corporate and community success have gotten him numerous attentions in the media. He has been featured, sourced, and quoted in numerous publications and news media including The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Hispanic Magazine, WNBC-TV, WWOR-TV, WABC-TV, Univision, Telemundo, Bloomberg TV, and numerous other media. In February 2004, Wilson made the cover page of Black Enterprise Magazine and in January 2008, he was profiled by ABC News, both for his balance of corporate and community leadership.
He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he is currently a life member of the OSU Alumni Association. He attended both public schools and Catholic school in Bergen County, New Jersey where he has lived his entire life.