Phoenix Announced as Host of the 2017 NCLR Annual Conference and National Latino Family Expo®

By Editor October 10, 2016 08:42

Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza talks about the impact and history of the Latino community in Arizona during a news conference in downtown Phoenix on Friday Oct. 7, 2016. (Featured Photo by Alejandro Barahona/Cronkite News)

(Phoenix, AZ) — At a press briefing on Friday, the National Council of La Raza President and CEO Janet Murguía joined Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and local community advocates to announce that Phoenix will be host of the 2017 NCLR Annual Conference and National Latino Family Expo.

The NCLR Annual Conference is the premier event for the nation’s largest gathering of Latino leaders, advocates and change-makers, and the National Latino Family Expo is the largest event in the country focused on resources and activities for the Latino family, averaging 200 exhibitors showcasing their products and services.

Featuring live entertainment, free health screenings, and cooking and exercise demonstrations, every year the Expo offers attendees something new in a fun, exciting and family-friendly environment.

The briefing marks NCLR’s return to the city of its founding as it prepares to celebrate its golden anniversary—a significant milestone in the organization’s decades of work in engaging and empowering the Latino community in the United States. The briefing will also highlight the growing clout of the state’s Latino electorate as it prepares to flex its political muscle this November.

Arizona, which boasts a strong and growing Latino community, has the nation’s sixth-largest Latino population. In recent years, the state has seen steady increases in the size of its Hispanic electorate. According Pew Research Center, Arizona is home to nearly 1 million eligible Latino voters, making them an influential voting bloc in a critical battleground state.

With most states’ voter registration deadline less than a week away, NCLR, along with community leaders and academic officials, will make one final push to galvanize and engage potential voters in an effort to reverse the trend of weak Latino voter turnout in the state.

NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.