At our annual HBCSF Gala, we choose several individuals/companies to recognize as leaders in the community and mentors to our youth. This year's honorees include…
Lisa Mateo
WPIX 11 Morning News
Lisa Mateo is a two-time Emmy nominated Features Reporter for the PIX 11 Morning News. On the features end she brings you the latest on what's happening around town, from breaking news to the hottest trends. Lisa also works double duty as Weekend Weather Anchor for the PIX News at Ten. She is currently enrolled at Kean University in New Jersey working toward a BS in Meteorology and a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal from The American Meteorological Society, as well as a Weathercaster Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. Aside from features and weather, she also fills in a news anchor.
Lisa has been with the PIX 11 Morning News for 10 years. She began as a production assistant and worked her way up to entertainment producer, helicopter traffic reporter, features reporter and weather anchor. She has also hosted and executive produced a number of half-hour travel specials for WPIX and worked as an on-air correspondent for the WPIX special series, "Viva!," which focused on Hispanic Americans making it big America. Lisa began her career in print news as a staff writer for the Suburban Trends newspaper in New Jersey, where she worked feature stories, local news and breaking news. She is a graduate of Rutgers College with a double major in Journalism and Communications and a minor in Spanish.
Born to Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, New York, Lisa is the oldest of four daughters. She now lives in New Jersey with her family. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Weather Association.
José Nido
Vice President, Global Supplier Diversity
Wyndham Worldwide
As vice president of global supplier diversity for Wyndham Worldwide, José Nido leads strategic growth in diverse suppliers throughout the company's vast portfolio, while increasing diverse business partnerships across the global enterprise with operations in nearly 100 countries.
With a wide and growing range of businesses, Wyndham Worldwide includes Wyndham Hotel Group, the world's largest hotel company based on number of properties; Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the world's largest member-based vacation exchange network and marketer of serviced vacation rentals; and Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the world's largest vacation ownership business.
As part of the Company's core values, Nido cultivates positive relationships within the diverse business community, leading a successful collaboration among the Wyndham Worldwide strategic sourcing team, franchised hotel operators, and property managers in significantly growing supplier diversity at the company. From linen supply, to equipment purchases, to general contractor and architectural services, Wyndham Worldwide increased its purchases from diverse suppliers by 51% in 2010, placing the Company among the top performers in its industry.
Nido began his career in the U.S. Air Force, where he served in a variety of supply management and administration roles, before retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Prior to joining Wyndham Worldwide in 2008, Nido most recently served in supplier and business diversity leadership positions at Insync Marketing Solutions and Printing Methods, Inc., then one of the largest minority-owned commercial printing and marketing solutions providers in the U.S. Earlier in his career, Nido served as senior manager of supplier diversity and minority business relations for The Walt Disney World Company.
Nido holds a degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico, a master of science in logistics management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a master of public administration from the University of Central Florida, as well as various professional certifications in management and logistics.
A recognized industry leader in supplier diversity and management, Nido has been nationally and locally recognized by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the United States Minority Business Development Agency/Florida Minority Business Opportunity Center, the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce, the Morris County (New Jersey) Chamber of Commerce, the University of Central Florida, and various other organizations.
In 2011, Nido was recognized as one of Hispanic Business Magazine's Top 100 Influentials, and one of the 25 Influential Hispanics in Central Florida by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando.
Nido currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the Central and North Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, Chairman of the Kissimmee/Osceola County (Florida) Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Business Council, and Chairman of the Morris County (New Jersey) Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Advisory Council.
Miguel Alexander Pozo, ESQ.
Lowenstein Sandler
Miguel Alexander Pozo is brand lawyer and homegrown, litigation partner at the 275-lawyer, Roseland, NJ based law firm of Lowenstein Sandler PC. He specializes in representing clients in the high end, luxury goods industry in brand protection and business litigation matters. His representative clients have included TAG Heuer, Christian Dior, Hublot, Thomas Pink, and Liz Claiborne, Inc., among others. Miguel also leads the firm's representation of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. and The Juilliard School. He has over fourteen years of litigation experience representing Fortune 500 corporations, businesses, and non-profit organizations in a broad range of federal and state court matters. Most recently, Miguel has counseled clients in matters involving business torts, contract disputes, employment litigation, and consumer fraud class actions.
In 2011, Miguel received the "Professional Lawyer of the Year Award" from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law. Additionally, he has been named a "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers magazine for his experience in business litigation for three consecutive years (2010-12). In 2009, he was twice recognized as one of New Jersey's top "40 Under 40" lawyers by the New Jersey Law Journal magazine and NJBiz Magazine. Both awards recognize an elite group of the State's leading professionals. Also in 2009, Miguel was recognized on Defining Trends Magazine's (DTM) 2009 Latino Trendsetter List, which includes Latin music legend Willie Colon, author activist/baseball wife Laura Posada, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., among others.
In 2008, he was featured in Essence magazine, as one of 50 men (nationally) and the only attorney honored by Essence magazine that year, for his community service efforts and work as a Board member for the Boys & Girls Club in Newark, NJ and other charities. In 2005, Miguel was listed as one of the "50 Leading Women and Minority Attorneys" in the State of New Jersey and labeled as a "Rising Star" for his outstanding achievements.
Miguel is currently the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) National Finance Director and also served as the 30th President of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey (HBA-NJ) (an Affiliate of the HNBA) during the 2009-10 term. Miguel is a Lifetime Member of the HNBA and HBA-NJ and a proud member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.