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OUR Team

OUR FOUNDERS



Ernesto Nieto

President & Founder

  • Native of Houston, Texas

  • Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Texas Wesleyan University
  • Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Austin College
  • M.Ed., Special Education, University of Houston

  • BS, Education, Southwestern University

  • Distinguished Alumnus, Southwestern University

  • Distinguished Alumnus, Northside High School (formerly Jefferson Davis High School)

  • Visiting Fellow, Council of Independent Colleges

  • Human and Civil Rights Award, National Education Association

  • Recognized by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling

  • Mayor’s Excellence Award, the Association for Hispanic Municipal Officials

  • Recognition Award, Texas State Teachers Association

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Gloria de Leon

Co-Founder & Senior Executive Vice President

  • Native of McAllen, Texas
  • Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Texas Wesleyan University

  • Doctor of Humane Letter, honoris causa, Austin College

  • BA, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (formerly University of Texas Pan American)

  • Distinguished Alumna, University of Texas-Pan American

  • Recognized by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling

  • Woman of Distinction, Girl Scouts of Texas

  • Community Advisor, Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc., University of Texas at Austin Chapter

OUTREACH MARKETS & PROGRAM SUPPORT
New Mexico: Dionisio "Dennis" Chavez Lorenzo De Zavala Youth Legislative Session

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K. Nicole Nieto

Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President

  • Native of Austin, Texas
  • MBA, University of Texas at Austin
  • MBA, El Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
  • BA, Latin American Studies, Vassar College

  • NHI Alumna (LDZ '86)

OUTREACH MARKETS
Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico,  Panama, and Puerto Rico

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Julio Irving Cotto

Senior Vice President

  • Native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  • MLA, Humanities, St. Edward’s University
  • BA, Latin American Studies and Philosophy, Boston University
  • NHI Alumnus (LDZ '97, CLN'00, '01, JFL '99, '00, '01)

OUTREACH MARKETS
Texas - Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Rio Grande Valley, Tip of Texas (Cameron County), South Texas, West Texas
East Coast (US) - New York,  New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, New England, Florida

Midwest (US)

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Marcelo A. Tafoya Sr.

Chief Marketing Officer

  • Native of Austin, Texas
  • BBA, The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin
  • 25+ Years in Marketing, Consulting, and Serial Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing Data Scientist, Lecturer, and Public Speaker

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Freddy Lozano

Special Program Director

  • Native of Laredo, Texas

  • BSA in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin with a teaching certificate from UTeach

  • NHI Alumnus (TXAGD '14, NYLDZ '15, NECWS '16)

OUTREACH MARKETS

Southern and Western Texas

West Coast - Washington

Northeast

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Celeste Aguilar Polanco

International Recruitment & Project Administrator of Mexico 

  • Native of Pasadena, TX

  • BA, Media Studies from University of Houston, Clear Lake '97

  • NHI Alumnus ( '87 Fiesta Young Leaders Conference)

OUTREACH MARKETS

Arizona, California, and Texas 

PROGRAM SUPPORT
Texas Great Debate 

California Sol Great Debate


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Brian Cruz

Business Office Support

  • Native of McAllen, TX

  • Candidate for B.A, Texas State University '24

  • NHI Alumnus ('15 TXGD, '16 NALDZ)

OUTREACH MARKETS

Rio Grande Valley, Tip of Texas Support

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Reilly Garcia

Volunteer Office & NHI La Tiendita

  • Native of Austin, Texas

  • Candidate for B.A, Texas State University '24

  • NHI Alumnus ('16 TXGD, '17 CALDZ, '17 Celebracion, '18 NECWS, '18 Celebracion)

OUTREACH MARKETS

NHI Volunteer Network

North Austin, Leander ISD

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Isabella Sada Nieto

Associate Director of Corporate Communications

  • Native of San Marcos, Texas

  • BA, Latin and Iberian Studies & International Relations, Austin College '23

  • NHI Alumnus ('16 TXGD, '17 LALDZ,, '18 NECWS)

OUTREACH MARKETS

Austin Metro, North Texas Metro, Oklahoma

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Bella Rodriguez 

NHI College Register Ambassador and Special Teams

  • Native of Dallas, Texas

  • NHI Alumnus ('19 TXGD, Ultimate TXLDZ Staff '04-'23)

OUTREACH MARKETS

North Texas Metro, Oklahoma

College Register Members

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Rodrigo Rosales Visoso

International Recruitment & Project Administrator of Mexico 

  • Native of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico

  • Candidate for B.S. Mechanical Engineering,  Tecnológico de Monterrey '25

  • NHI Alumnus ('18 MWGD, '20 CWSx)

OUTREACH MARKETS

Mexico

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National Hispanic Institute

P.O. Box 220
Maxwell, Texas 78656

+1 (512) 357-6137


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Hours of Operations:

M-F, 8:30am - 12:00pm; 1:30pm - 5:30pm CDT