Washington, D.C., November 4, 2002- Alma Morales Riojas, the President and CEO of MANA, a National Latina Organization, is pleased to announce two new members to its Washington, D.C. Headquarters. MANA is a national, nonprofit, advocacy organization headquartered in the Nation's Capital. MANA's mission is to empower Latinas through education, leadership development, and community service. The organization envisions a national community of informed Latina activists working to improve the quality of life for all Hispanics.

Cassandra de la Cruz Oshinnaiye joins MANA as the Hermanitas Program Manager. The HERMANITAS ® program is a youth development effort designed to meet the specific needs of young Latina adolescents, in which MANA and other community member volunteer their time to mentor teens. Ms. Oshinnaiye comes to MANA with high qualifications that will allow her to excel in her new position. She worked as Program Coordinator for American University's literacy program, DC Reads, for 2 years, during which she was responsible for the recruitment, hiring, and training of college students to participate in the literacy tutoring program, as well as supervision of the program and establishing relationships with officials for DC Public Schools. She then became the Assistant Director of American University's Community Service Center from 2001 to the present, where she was Program Coordinator of the DC Reads Program, while also serving as the primary contact for issues pertaining to youth and education for the Center. While she was there, Ms. Oshinnaiye also pursued additional sources of funding and resources for the program and worked on the organization's grant compliance.

Ms. Oshinnaiye also has served as the President and Executive Director of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/ Lambda Pi Chi Sorority Inc., for over two years. In this capacity, she supervises the Board of 7 National Directors and 5 Regional Directors and monitors the operations of over 200 members in 15 Undergraduate Chapters and 2 Professional Chapters of the organization. Her experiences as a leader in the Latina community are extremely valuable, and will be of great service to MANA in her new role as HERMANITAS ® Project Manager.

Catherine Easby-Smith has joined MANA as the new Executive Assistant to the President. She graduated in May 2002 from the University of Virginia with Distinction, with a B.A. in Spanish and Foreign Affairs. While at the University of Virginia, Catherine's focus in her studies of Foreign Affairs was on issues of the international relations of Latin America, as well as on U.S.-Latin American relations. Catherine also served as a volunteer for two years, teaching English to migrant farm workers. Her responsibilities at MANA will be to assist the President in new projects, as well as to work to expand MANA's communications and educational outreach.

MANA is pleased to announce the promotion of Daisy Aponte. Daisy, a professional staff person at the Washington MANA office, has worked at MANA since 1999 as Administrative Coordinator. Her responsibilities have included planning and coordinating national and regional conferences, managing office administration, processing payments and check requests, and developing office procedures. With her new position, Ms. Aponte will be assuming additional responsibilities with the website and membership.

The President and CEO of MANA, the Executive Board of Directors, and MANA members welcome Cassandra de la Cruz Oshinnaiye and Catherine Easby-Smith as new MANA National Staff, and they congratulate Daisy Aponte for her dedicated and professional service to the organization.

MANA, A National Latina Organization, is a nonprofit, advocacy organization headquartered in the nation's capital, Washington, D. C. With chapters across the country, it is the oldest National Latina membership organization in the United States. MANA, whose mission is to empower Latinas through leadership development, community service, and advocacy, envisions a national community of informed Latina activists working to improve the quality of life for all Hispanics. MANA also has the only national young Latina's mentoring program for girls 11 to 17, "HERMANITAS®" which brings over 100 girls to Washington DC to a summer institute that includes a briefing at the White House and a visit to the girls' Congressional representatives Information on MANA can be obtained at the web site: www.hermana.org or send an e-mail to hermana2@aol.com