BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael E. Veve,

A native of Puerto Rico, Michael Veve is currently a partner in the law firm of Lasa, Monroig & Veve, which specializes in small business representation, government contacts, corporate and commercial law. Mr. Veve serves as the Legal Advisor to the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington, D.C. and has been practicing law since 1972. As early as 1983, he was designated one of five outstanding young attorneys with D.C. area law firms by Legal Times of Washington. He is currently a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. Over the course of his distinguished law career, Mr. Veve has represented employer clients on cases involving labor relations and employment, drafted rules and regulations and opinion letters for the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and served as the sole in-house counsel for a financially troubled, bankruptcy reorganized $100 million international newswire services based in Washington DC, with over 1,200 employees.

 

Between 1973 and 1978, Mr. Veve supervised the legal work of 15 D.C. law firms and was responsible for developing the in-house counsel capability of a 40-staff state government office in Washington, D.C, representing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. His work as a federal civil litigator before the US District Court of Maryland, Virginia and Puerto Rico have included issues involving First Amendment, real estate, and ERISA; representation of European, Caribbean and Latin American governments before the U.S Congress Government and Congress. Mr. Veve also serves on the Board of Directors and as General Counsel of the Greater America Business Coalition and as a Board member of the Ibero-Chamber of Commerce.

Mara L. Patermaster, Secretary

Mara Patermaster serves as a Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at the National Academy of Public Administration, a Congressionally-chartered non-profit organization dedicated to helping government leaders build organizations that deliver results. In this capacity Ms. Patermaster designs and promotes strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors in support of the National Academy’s studies and well established technical assistance program for government leaders at the Federal, state and local levels. Prior to joining the National Academy in 2007, she served for eight years as National Director of the Office of Combined Federal Operations (CFC), where she oversaw fiscal and regulatory compliance by 300 Combined Federal Campaigns serving over 4 million Federal donors, and was responsible for overall policy and technical direction. In 2005, the combined total raised by all CFCs was $263 million.

 

Ms. Patermaster has a long and distinguished record of public service including work in the private non-profit social services arena and philanthropic sectors. Prior to joining OPM, she served as Assistant Vice President for Strategic Planning and Governance at Independent Sector, a coalition of national nonprofit organizations and foundations with a common mission to advance philanthropic initiatives. Her experience in the field of philanthropy also includes work as the founding director of a New York-based family foundation and as director of a Centers for Disease Control-funded HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants program which distributed over $1 million in grants annually and provided technical assistance to community-based organizations targeting minority and special populations. Ms. Patermaster began her career in local government as director of senior service centers in her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and is a proud graduate of the National Urban Fellows Program.

Juan Marulanda ,Treasurer

Juan Marulanda is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Lafayette Federal Credit Union. Lafayette Federal Credit Union is a $330 million institution and serves the financial needs of more than 15,000 members from its five branch locations in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. There he oversees and directs many of the credit union's activates, including branch operations, marketing and business development, information technology and support operations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Miami and an MBA with an emphasis on Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. In addition to his work with Lafayette Federal Bank and the Federation, Mr. Marulanda is on the PBX Settlement Services Board of Directors as Secretary. He is the Assistant District Governor for District 7620, served as President of the Rotary Club of Wheaton-Kensington from 2006 to 2007, and is a Civil Engineering Officer in the Tennessee Air National Guard. He is also very active with the Boy Scouts of America, having served on the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America on the Creek District Nominating Committee, the Hispanic Outreach Committee, and is currently a Den Leader for the Cub Scouts of America.

 

Sara E. Meléndez

A native of Puerto Rico, Sara E. Melendez is an oft-quoted expert on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector by the New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC News, CNBC, and National Public Radio. From 1994 to 2002, Dr. Melendez served as CEO of Independent Sector, leading the organization's work to increase the visibility of the people, organizations, and contributions of the nonprofit sector. She successfully opposed efforts to silence nonprofits' advocacy rights, promoted ethical and accountable governance and management of nonprofit organizations, and fostered collaboration among business, government and the nonprofit sectors.

 

Dr. Melendez worked for over 20 years in education, as an elementary school teacher, a university professor, a dean and vice provost, and as an executive and CEO in education associations. She has advocated for opportunities in higher education and in the nonprofit/philanthropic sector for minorities and women, and has served on numerous boards including the Ethics Resource Center, the Points of Light Foundation, the American University in London, the National Puerto Rican Forum, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Aspira Association, and META (Multicultural Education Training and Advocacy). Dr. Melendez has published numerous articles on education, leadership, diversity, and co-authored a book on bilingual education. In her most recent position as Research Professor at George Washington University, Dr. Melendez led research on capacity and sustainability of Latino nonprofits. Dr. Melendez received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brooklyn College; a Master of Arts in Education from Long Island University; and a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University.

 

Jorge E. Figueredo

Since June 2008, Jorge Figueredo has served as director of the Racial Justice and Immigrants’ Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, where he engages in community outreach, grassroots organizing, public education, and legislative advocacy to promote these issues. A native of Columbia, Mr. Figueredo is also the President and CEO of Figueredo Enterprises, Inc., a firm formed in September 2007 to provide innovative answers to complex problems through the development of business strategies, financial, environmental and energy management solutions and technologies for corporations, non-profit organizations, and governmental bodies at all stages of the business and organizational cycles. From 2003-2005, Mr. Figueredo was instrumental in the conceptualization, establishment and capitalization of Security One Bank (known today as John Marshall Bank) to meet the financial needs of local small businesses and consumer markets, with a specialized focus on the Hispanic market. Mr. Figueredo served on the Board of Directors until a change of control in July 2008. From April 2000 to July 2005, Mr. Figueredo served as the Executive Director of the Hispanic Committee of Virginia, Falls Church, Virginia, a 501(c)-(3) non-profit organization that collaborates with local governments, national organizations, foundations, corporations, and elected officials to fund social services for Hispanic and non-Hispanic immigrants in Northern Virginia, enabling them to more fully participate in and contribute to American society.
 
In addition to the Latino Federation of Greater Washington, Mr. Figueredo also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Latino Economic Development Corporation in Washington D.C. and Community Lodgings, Inc. in Alexandria , Virginia . Mr. Figueredo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland , and a certificate in Bank Management from the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia.

 

Angel Luis Irene

A native of Puerto Rico, Angel Luis Irene has built a distinguished public service career working to find solutions to the needs and problems facing the ever -growing Latino community in the District of Columbia. In 1974, Mr. Irene served as the first Latino Social Worker with the DC Chapter of the America Red Cross. In 1977 he worked as the first Latino Legislative Aide to the District’s Delegate to Congress. From 1979-1981, he served as the third Executive Director of the DC Council of Latino Agencies. In 1981, Mr. Irene worked for the DC Office of Personnel to establish a citywide Hispanic recruitment program and later served as special assistant to both the Associate Director of Operations and the Deputy Director of Personnel. In 1999, he was recruited by the DC City Administrator to assist with the establishment of the new DC Department of Motor Vehicles where he held a variety of key positions including Chief of the Management, Planning and Analysis Division.

 

He has also helped to establish the Bilingual Translation Act, the Council of Latino Agencies, the Office of Latino Affairs, and the Latino Commission. Mr. Irene currently serves as Executive Director of Vida Senior Centers (formerly known as EOFULA, Educational Organization for United Latin Americans), the oldest Latino community-based organization in the District of Columbia. Serving on more than seven mayoral commissions and task forces, Mr. Irene has received over 25 employment related and community awards recognizing his dedication and contributions to the DC Latino Community. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Puerto Rico and completed the course work for a Masters Degree in Government from Georgetown University.

 

Alberto Echegaray Guevara

With awards and accolades through the Americas, Alberto Echegaray Guevara is recognized for his business acumen, entrepreneurial insight and philanthropic vision. In 2003, Mr. Echegaray founded I-LIFT Tensor Threads- AXT Medical to develop a cutting edge technology for non-invasive procedures in the field of plastic surgery. He is also founder and director of Neolactose for production of pharma grade lactose in the U.S. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Echegaray served as Latin America Director of Ashoka in Arlington, Virginia, where he developed strategic partnerships with more than 50 corporations in Latin America, including Procter & Gamble, AES, CNN, McKinsey & Co., CEMEX, UBS, Grupo Polar and built strong relationships with high net worth individuals and organizations in Latin America and in the US. In 2002-2003, Mr. Echegaray worked as a small- and medium-enterprise investment specialist with the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to this, he founded PlusEnergia, Inc. in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Sao Paulo, Brazil, the first electricity-buying company in Latin America. Serving as Cabinet Advisor for the Ministry of Economy of Argentina, he analyzed Federal Law projects and deregulation processes across sectors such as Energy, Water Management, Communications, and Infrastructure.

Mr. Echegaray is a 1992 graduate of Argentina’s Military Academy in Buenos Aires, with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. He subsequently attended the Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in 1996. He also holds a master’s in policy management from Georgetown University and completed the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program in Non-Profit Management.

 

Contact LFGW: 2437 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009 - ph.202-328-9451