Washington, D.C., April 29, 2002 -The National Board of Directors elected Diana Rael as the Chair of the Board of Directors of MANA, A National Latina Organization (MANA)®, the oldest and largest Latina membership organization in the United States. Elected to the Board of Directors were Victor Cabral, Verizon Vice President, Government and Hispanic Affairs and Raquel "Rocky" Egusquiza, Ford Motor Company Fund Director of Public Policy, Health and Social Programs. Cabral and Egusquiza are the first corporate members to serve on the national board.

MANA is a national, nonprofit, advocacy organization headquartered in the nation's capital, Washington, D. C., with chapters across the country. MANA's mission is to empower Latinas through leadership development, community service, and advocacy. The organization envisions a national community of informed Latina's working to improve the quality of life for all Hispanics thru its premier programs, AvanZamos® a leadership program for Latinas and Hermanitas® the only national mentoring program for young Latinas ages 11 to 18.

Diana Rael, a native of Las Vegas, New Mexico, has been a MANA member since 1995. She has served on the MANA National Board of Directors since 1998 and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since April 1999. She is a founder of MANA de Sonoma in Northern California and of MANA de Chester County in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Ms. Rael has had a successful career with State Farm Insurance Companies spanning 23 years. A Claims Manager in Concordville, Pennsylvania, she holds the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter designation. She has a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Redlands, University, in Redlands, California. Ms. Rael serves as a board advisor to MANA de Chester County and also serves on the Penn State Community Bridge Advisory Board. She lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania with her husband, Luis, and their son, Alonzo.

Victor Cabral, a native of California is a founder and co-chair of the MANA Corporate Advisory Board. He is the first male to serve on the national board. Mr. Cabral manages public policy and Federal government affairs for Verizon and leads on all strategic relations with the national and regional Hispanic community. He served as assistant vice president Government Relations for GTE having started as an attorney in 1997. Mr. Cabral was chief counsel to a member of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board, counsel on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel. He holds a master's degree from Harvard University and earned his bachelor's and juris doctor degrees at University of California at Davis. Mr. Cabral resides in McLean, Virginia.

Raquel "Rocky" Egusquiza is a native of Florida. She is a founder and co-chair of the MANA Corporate Advisory Board. Ms. Egusquiza has responsibility for developing, evaluating and recommending funding to over two hundred local, regional and national not-for-profit organizations for the Ford Motor Company Fund. Prior to joining Ford, she worked at AT&T's governmental affairs office in Florida, where she was responsible for developing AT&T's strategic governmental relations program. Ms. Egusquiza also worked as the director of Governmental Affairs initiatives for AT&T Broadband before municipal governments. During that time she served as the company's registered lobbyist with local governments, county government and the Florida Legislature. She has held several positions in the public sector in Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida, including executive director of Miami-Dade County's Legislative Delegation, the largest and most diverse bi-partisan delegation in the state Egusquiza received her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Miami in Florida and currently resides in Dearborn, Michigan.

Executive officers elected were Rosa Castro, Vice Chair; Evangeline Elizondo, Secretary; and Irma Perez Cordova, Esq., Treasurer. Other members of the Board include Immediate Past Chair Beatriz Fernandez, Leonor Solis, Adelina Aguilar, youth member, Priscilla Vasquez, advisor and Alma Morales Riojas, MANA President and CEO.

For more information on MANA, e-mail hermana2@aol.com; call 202-833-0060 or fax 202-496-0588.