Dominican American Round Table

The Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) is pleased to announce that The Honorable David Cicillini, Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island will speak at the DANR 8th Annual National Conference in Boston, MA. He is expected to address the audience during the Saturday breakfast on October 8, 2005 at the UMass Boston Student Campus Center.

?We are pleased to have Mayor Cicillini address a national Dominican audience,? said Cid Wilson, President of the DANR. ?Mayor Cicillini has been a long time supporter of the DANR and the Dominican community in Providence?.

The conference will take place October 7-9, 2005 in Boston, MA. Most of the events will take place at the UMass-Boston Student Campus Center with the gala dinner taking place at the Boston Convention & Civic Center. Both convention centers are brand new state-of-the-art facilities.

What is unique about the DANR National Conference is that it is the ONLY event in the United States of America that brings together Dominican and Latino leaders from all over the country to one single location for the purpose of empowering the Dominican community at the national level. Previous cities that have hosted the DANR National Conference include Atlantic City, NJ; Washington, DC; Providence, RI; New York, NY; and Miami, FL. The theme of this year?s conference is Dominicans in America: 2005 and Beyond.

For more information on the conference, see http:www.danr.org

DANR conference agenda

Cid Wilson, president of DANR says that the agenda details will be up on the website by Friday. He says there are 10-12 panels throughout the day.

So check back on Friday pm at http://www.danr.org/ip.asp?op=2005Agenda&m=x002700AnnualConf

What the Dominican American Roundtable Does

Here's Cid Wilson's reply to what else they do aside from the conference:

The conference is the most 'visible' thing we do. There are numerous things that we do in Washington, DC that do not get the same publicity. For example, when we lobby on behalf of the Dominican community in Congress we don't bring 1,000 people to the the halls of Congress to do lobbying as we are effective with lobbying efforts using our boardmembers and key Dominican American leaders as well as experts that help us to move our agenda forward.

This year we registered thousands of voter, we launched a Dominican Leadership Institute, we held forums, and also sponsored many initiatives from other organizations as well. We have held forums with Dominican organizations in over 15 states this year.

Lastly, we produce research, such as our Voter Capacity Report and our Dominican American calendar. Our journal (which can be downloaded) also has useful research.

The conferences gets the most publicity, but the real work takes place in Washington DC.

If the person wishes to get more involved with the DANR, they should send an email to info@danr.org and we will see if we can address their concerns more specifically.

Cid Wilson estimates there are 1.4 million Dominicans living in the US.

DANR Completes Successful National Gathering In Boston, MA

Washington, DC (October 12, 2005)

The Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) announces that the DANR 8th Annual National Conference was a great success. The conference took place October 7-9, 2005 in Boston, MA at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

“Dominican Americans, Latinos, and other participants from approximately 18 U.S. states, and Puerto Rico came together this past weekend in Boston, MA, with a mission to unify and empower our community nationally,” said Cid Wilson, President of the DANR. “We would like to thank the hundreds of participants, panelists, volunteers, and sponsors who supported our conference and share our vision of nationally unified Dominican community.”

Panel and workshops covered many areas concerning the Dominican community. The DANR will share these conclusions, concerns, and outcomes with the United States Congress and the Bush Administration.
Among the many speakers who addressed the DANR 8th Annual National Conference include:

Boston, MA Mayor Thomas Menino
Providence, RI Mayor David Cicilline
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch
Rhode Island State Senator Juan Pichardo
Texas Commissioner of State Health Services Eduardo Sanchez
US Congressman John Tierney (MA)
US Congressman James McGovern (MA)
US Congressman Charles Rangel (NY)
Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion
NY State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat
Dominican Ambassador to the U.S. Flavio Darío Espinal
Lawrence, MA Mayor Michael Sullivan
Lawrence, MA Councilman Marcos Devers

The DANR honored New York City Commissioner Guillermo Linares, Ph.D. and former Lawrence, MA Councilwoman Julia Silverio with the DANR Leadership Award. In addition, the DANR honored Frieda Garcia of Boston, MA with the DANR Lifetime Achievement Award for 40 years of service to the Dominican community. During the conference luncheon, the DANR recognized the courage and leadership of Dominicanos Unidos de Louisiana who came to Boston as guests of the DANR and whom were directly impacted by tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.