The Ohio Latino Affairs Commission Board recently elected its new leaders for the 44th board, including two representatives from The Ohio State University. Congratulations to Elena Foulis, senior lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, who will serve as vice chair, and to Elizabeth Guzman-Bowman, senior outreach coordinator at Wexner Medical Center, who will remain in the role of secretary. They will serve for a period of one year, starting this month. Manuel Lopez of Springfield will serve as chair.  

Appointed by the governor, the Commission’s board members represent different regions of the state to guide the work of the commission. Their expertise and involvement at the local level is an invaluable source of information and contacts that expands the impact of the work of this agency at the state level, in particular this year, as the team has been deeply involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response.

The Ohio Latino Affairs Commission advises state government on issues affecting Hispanic Ohioans, connects the diverse Latino communities across the state and builds the capacity of community organizations so they may better serve the fast-growing Latino population of Ohio.