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AAFF Auditor receives Community Award

Miami, Florida – April 11, 2010

 Ms. LEILANI FONTANILLA, M.A., B.S.N., R.N., current Auditor of the Asian American Federation of Florida, will be a recipient of the Builders of Community and County Award, to be given at the Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (FMCRC) 8th Annual Summit to be held in Miami, Florida on June 7, 2010, coinciding with the Asian American Federation of Florida’s Statewide meeting and election of officers.

Ms. Fontanilla is a dynamic Nurse Educator and an outstanding Asian-American community leader, a second-generation Filipino-American born in Miami, Florida, and is an advocate for her profession and for giving back to the community through community service.   

 As a Masters-prepared Nurse Educator and Coordinator of the International Nurse Recruitment Program of the Florida Hospital Adventist Healthcare System, Central Florida , Ms. Fontanilla developed the Transcultural Assimilation Program for three-hundred newly hired international nurses that will enhance the delivery of patient care in accordance with United States standards.

 She has served as a role model and mentor to professionals in her field and, as a guest speaker during Career Day, has inspired young adults to purse the career of nursing. These are minuscule efforts to help address the shortage of professional nurses in Florida.

  Ms. Fontanilla is actively engaged in Central Florida and statewide activities and projects. She is the Founding President and Advisor of the Bayanihan International Ladies Association of Central Florida (1990), an organization that enhances unity among women of diverse cultures and provides volunteer services that addresses the needs of senior citizens, disabled youth, abused children, chemically-dependent women and the homeless.

 She has held various positions in Asian-American organizations in Central Florida as past Auditor and Chair of the Student Achievers Scholastic Recognition Program for the Asian-American Heritage Council (25 Member Organizations). As Chair (2000-2003, 2008-2009) of the Council for Filipino-American Organizations of Central Florida (10 Member Organizations), Ms. Fontanilla spearheaded a Filipino-American community project which dedicated the bust monument of Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, to the City of Orlando in 2001, the first Asian country to be represented in the International Plaza at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, Florida. She continues to be a key player in the annual Philippine Independence Day Celebration (from Spain), Fiesta Filipina, which provides education about Philippine history and culture to the greater Central Florida community.

 At the state level, Ms. Fontanilla serves as the Auditor of the Asian-American Federation of Florida and is a member of the 2010 Census Sunshine State Complete Count Committee, appointed by the Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist.

The other recipients of the Builders of Community and County Award include: 

·         Mr. Damon Lester, President of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD

·         Mr.Roland Sanchez-Medina, Jr. Esq., immediate past President of the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA)

·         Ms. Nadine Smith , executive director of Equality Florida

·         Mr. Malik Ali, President of the Florida Minority Suppliers Development Council

Mr. Jeffrey W. (Jeff) Jones, Bank of America, Sr. Vice President, Supplier Development, will also be honored as 2010 FMCRC Banker of the Year.

The FMCRC Summit, featuring “Let’s Do Business Florida”,  will provide 300 Florida and Southeast U.S. Minority small businesses the opportunity to access contract opportunities with Tier 1 (Prime) suppliers in the financial, telecom, utility and automotive industries.

The Annual Florida Legal Opportunity Forum, now on its second year, will provide contract opportunities in financial industry for Florida Minority law firms, while “Access to Capital Forum” will bring access to debt and equity investment funds for inner city minority businesses and discuss new generation master community development mechanisms for job creation in Florida minority low-moderate income communities.

The Summit will be held at Doubletree Hotel and Exhibition Center, 711 N.W. 72nd Avenue, Miami, Florida.  Registration is free for non-profits.

 Click here to register online for the Let's Do Business Florida/Legal Economic Opportunity Forum/FMCRC Summit

Registration is also available via a (.pdf) and can be mailed or faxed to:

2302 W. St. Louis Ave
Tampa, FL. 33607
Fax: 1-813-915-5101 (please be sure to dial the "1" before the area code)

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