Washington, DC – The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) announced today that Coca-Cola’s Rudy Beserra will receive the Award for Leadership at the 30^th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards, which will take place on September 14^th at the Historic Warner Theatre, in Washington, DC. The Awards are among highest honors by Latinos for Latinos and supported by 40 national Hispanic-serving institutions that co-host the program. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal, NASCAR Engineer Alba Colon and The Latin Recording Academy® (Latin Grammys) have already been announced as Honorees.  Additional Awardees will be announced over next two weeks.

The Awards will also include top Latino performers and personalities paying tribute to the Honorees from the stage, and will be broadcast nationally on Friday, October 6, 2017, (10:00 p.m. ET) on PBS.  As special assistant to President Ronald Reagan in the Office of Public Liaison on Latino and Small Business Affairs, Beserra was instrumental in creating the Hispanic Heritage Awards and Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988. 

“The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is privileged to honor one of our founders, Rudy Beserra, with the Leadership Award for his service to our community and country,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “Rudy has been not only been an example of what can be accomplished, a role model, but also a ‘padrino’ or champion for so many Latinos including me. We look forward to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with America in an entertaining, meaningful and inspirational way as we present the great value Latinos provide.” 

Beserra is currently a Senior Vice President for Latin Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company.  As a proud native of Albuquerque, NM, Beserra graduated from the University of New Mexico.  From modest roots, he has built a long, successful career as an advocate and voice for the Latino community.  With Coca-Cola, he has strengthened the company’s support for hundreds of Latino organizations and small businesses in the U.S.

Beserra is an active member of a number of prominent Latino-focused organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI), of which he is a founding member; and he serves on the board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).  In the past, Rudy has served as chairman of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). 

In 2016, Beserra was included in Latino Leaders magazine’s “101 Most Influential Latinos of 2016”, recognized as one of the “exemplary individuals” who “have dedicated their lives to education, culture and the success of generations to come.”  In 2011, Rudy received the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award.  That same year, he was awarded the Hector Barreto “Con Ganas” Award at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) annual convention for his advocacy promoting Latino businesses in the private sector.

In 2007, he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Association of Latin Professionals in Finance.  His other citations include the 1995 Hispanic Community Commitment Award by the Latin American Management Association; a special recognition award in 2006 by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and the 2007 Hispanic Leadership Award from the Dominican Times.

The Hispanic Heritage Awards are unique in that educators, physicians, innovators, businesspersons, community leaders, and elected officials stand alongside celebrities and great artists in representing the great value Latinos provide the United States and the globe.  Past Honorees have included Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Oscar Hijuelos, Juan Luis Guerra, Ana Gabriel, Rita Moreno, Placido Domingo, Junot Diaz, Celia Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Tito Puente, Anthony Quinn, Juan Marichal, Los Tigres Del Norte, Jose Feliciano, Isabel Allende, Pedro Martinez, Alejandro Sanz, Oscar de la Hoya, Pepe Aguilar, Gloria Estefan, Martin Sheen, Andy Garcia, Juanes, Carlos Vives, Eva Longoria, and Zoe Saldana, among many others.

The Hispanic Heritage Awards serve as a launch of HHF’s year-round, award-winning programs which inspire, prepare and connect Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet America’s needs in priority fields.  HHF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information on the mission of HHF visit www.hispanicheritage.org.

For more information on the 2016 Hispanic Heritage Awards or to request media credentials, please contact John Reilly at  212.878.5076 /  jreilly@rogersandcowan.com  or Sylvia Bedrosian: sbedrosian@rogersandcowan.com