Thank You!

On Oct. 19, 2017 at the ARTS Ballroom, we celebrated the 28th Annual Scholarship Dinner HBAPA Legal Education Fund (HBALEF).  Thank you all for joining us and supporting the mission of the HBALEF.  It was an amazing night of pride and celebration!

That night, we honored the Rev. Luis Cortés, President and CEO of Esperanza. For 30 years, Esperanza has been one of the leading voices for change and positive transformation for Latinos in America.  What began as a local initiative, with programs targeted to address the unmet needs of Philadelphia’s Latino community, is now a national and international model of community empowerment and development. Through Esperanza,  Rev. Cortés has carried out his mission to transform on issues related to economic and workforce development, housing, immigration, and education. Rev. Cortés is an extraordinary member of our community and we could not be more proud to have honored him on Oct. 19th for all his dedication to the community. We thank  Rev. Cortés for all he has done and continues to do for Latinos across America.

As always, our scholarship recipients were the stars of the LEF celebration. This year the LEF awarded scholarships to Elva Perales, Antonio Ochoa, Ronald Kolla, Valerie Diaz, Derek J. Demeri, and Christopher Rodrigues. All LEF scholarship recipients received $3,000 to assist with their legal education. We also celebrated the HBAPA & Stradley Ronon  scholarship recipient, Rebecca Cabrera. She received a $5,000 scholarship, and a paid summer internship to work at Stradley Ronon LLP.  

We are proud of each student for their hard work, and dedication to helping the Latino community move forward.  Of course, we thank the members, supporters, and our sponsors for helping us create opportunities for the next generation of latino lawyers in Pennsylvania.

2017 LEF Scholarship Recipients

Elva Perales

The Penn State University School of Law

Antonio R. Ochoa
Drexel University, Thomas R. Kline School of Law

Ronald Kolla
Temple University Beasley School of Law

Valerie Diaz
Temple University Beasley School of Law

Derek J. Demeri
Rutgers School of Law

Christopher Rodrigues
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

2018 Stradley Ronon & HBAPA Scholarship  Recipient

Rebecca Cabrera
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law