The True Contributions of Latinos to the U.S. Economy, Business, and Entertainment

Ten years ago, leaders at the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) began to recognize the emergence of a new mainstream economy-powered by U.S. Latino consumers, entrepreneurs, and workers-which was making an outsized contribution to the nation's economic growth. Yet, this positive growth they were seeing in the data was not reflected in a larger, inaccurate narrative about Latino contributions. Instead, the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes often manifested into harmful laws and policies, negatively impacting Latino businesses and communities. Together with the Latino Data Collaborative Think Tank, LDC began to ask, \"What if American Latinos were all recognized as valued, patriotic Americans in all facets of American life?\"\r\n\r\nAna Valdez is the President and CEO of The Latino Donor Collaborative. She is an American marketing, media, research, and political expert and thought leader with 30 years of experience in business, media, and the corporate world. Valdez recognizes the urgency of producing reputable data and statistics that showcase the invaluable contributions of American Latinos to the U.S. economy, business, entertainment, development, and the overall U.S. GDP. In 2023, LDC's outreach has touched over 250,000 C-level executives and sparked discussions with more than 2 million individuals.\r\n\r\nIn a moment when fearful rhetoric and a barrage of deficit narratives attempt to drive the conversation on Latino excellence, join the City Club as Ana Valdez outlines what we can learn from the data and research, and how we can accurately reflect the identity of Latinos in America and their contributions to the nation that benefit all of us.