U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Champion Laurie Hernandez

MIAMI, Feb. 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Olympic gymnastics gold and silver medalist and Dancing with the Stars champion Laurie Hernandez, the 16-year-old dynamo who blazed into America’s heart during the Olympic Games Rio 2016, will be awarded with the 2017 Latinovator Award at the eighth annual Hispanicize 2017 Week, April 3-6 ( www.HispanicizeEvent.com ).

“Laurie’s achievements bring an instant smile to everyone because in addition to being a great Olympic champion, she represents a new wave of Latinas who dare to dream big and confidently shine as they reshape the face of America," said Manny Ruiz, founder and CEO of the Hispanicize Media Group that owns Hispanicize Event. ”We are delighted to welcome Laurie to Hispanicize at the start of what is sure to be a legacy-making sports and celebrity-filled career.”

Born in New Brunswick, NJ to Wanda, a social worker and Anthony Hernandez, a New York City county clerk, Laurie began taking gymnastics at age five after she became bored with dance class. Nicknamed the “Human Emoji”, the 16-year-old gymnast is the first U.S. born Latina to join the U.S. women’s gymnastics team since 1984 and was also one of the youngest members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. Most recently, the breakthrough star released her first book “ I Got This: To Gold and Beyond. ”

At Hispanicize, Laurie will take center stage at the Latinovator Award lunch on Tuesday, April 4th, sponsored by Crest® in partnership with P&G Orgullosa, for whom she’s a national spokesperson. To celebrate this prestigious recognition with conference attendees, Laurie will also be available in the Crest and P&G Orgullosa suite for a meet-and-greet and photo opportunities. For scheduling details follow @Orgullosa on social media.

Established in 2012, the Latinovator Awards recognize Latino celebrities, business professionals and other high achievers who have become crossover successes or whose stories of achievements are remarkable or inspirational. Each of the innovators will be presented individually with their awards at a special general session and discuss their inspirations, challenges, business habits and road to success.

Laurie joins the 2017 Latinovator Award class that already includes Noticias Telemundo and NBC News anchor Jose Diaz-Balart.

Previous Latinovator recipients include acting legend Rita Moreno, television icon Don Francisco, veteran actor Luis Guzman, journalist Soledad O’Brien, iconic producer Emilio Estefan, news anchor Maria Elena Salinas, famed musician Sheila E., Cuban dissident and blogger Yoani Sanchez, actor Carlos Ponce and others.

Hispanicize 2017 Update

Hispanicize 2017 Week will feature more than 200 speakers in 100+ sessions, town halls, workshops, fireside chats and keynotes. Hispanicize 2017 also features the Second Annual DiMe Summit, the first annual Hispanicize CMO Summit, the Third Annual Tecla Awards, the 4th annual Positive Impact Awards and Second Annual NAHJ Spanish-language Journalist Conference.

To reserve a hotel room visit  http://bit.ly/2f4HhV0 . See the official preview video of Hispanicize 2017 here:  https://youtu.be/2c-oWnYBM0c )

This year’s event is being produced in collaboration with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, PRWeek, the Latino Startup Alliance and Black Tech Week.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorship opportunities are available through March 23, 2017 by contacting sponsorship@hispanicizeevent.com or calling 203.364.4779.

Presented by Prudential Financial, Hispanicize 2017 Week (www.HispanicizeEvent.com) is sponsored by a growing list of sponsors. As of today, announced sponsors also include: P&G Orgullosa, Crest, Toyota, SBS’ LaMusica, Wells Fargo, State Farm, Best Western, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, AARP, KOA, CNN, CNN Español, The City of Miami, Kelley Blue Book, Regions Bank, Pan American Life Insurance, ESPN Deportes, Florida Dairy Farmers, Alma, República, C-Com Group, FundLatinos.com, APC Collective, BodenPR, Savings.com, Visit Philly, SaludMóvil and The Calvert Foundation.

Additional media partners include: Hispanicize Wire, Mamiverse, LatinaMoms.com, Popful, Hispanic Kitchen, 2BTube, PRODU, El Sentinel, Puerto Rico BloggerCon, Hispanic PR Blog, the Hispanic Public Relations Association, Miami Herald Media, Black Enterprise, Media Moves and iBlog Magazine.

About The Hispanicize Event   Now in its 8th year, Hispanicize 2017 Week ( www.HispanicizeEvent.com ) (#Hispz17) is the iconic, largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in digital content creation, journalism, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship.

Hispanicize 2017 is expected to gather more than 3,000 of the nation’s most influential Latino professionals from the industries of digital content creation, journalism, music, marketing, film and business over four days. The event will take place in downtown Miami’s JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, April 3-6, 2017.

The Hispanicize event is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books, music and more targeting Latinos in the U.S. and/or Puerto Rico.

The Hispanicize event is owned and operated by Hispanicize Media Group, LLC, the parent company of DiMe Media, Hispanic Kitchen and the Hispanic PR Blog.

The Hispanicize Event can be found on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Hispanicize , Instagram ( @HispanicizeEvent ) and Twitter ( @Hispanicize ).

About Orgullosa   Orgullosa is a P&G-owned program that celebrates Latinas and empowers them to feel confident about their personal appearance, style and homes by offering solutions that satisfy their beauty and household needs through a variety of trusted brands, including Olay®, Secret®, Venus®, Pantene®, Crest®, Always®, Tide®, Downy®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Febreze®, Gain®, Pampers®, and Dawn®.

CONTACT: Katherine Johnson Hispanicize (786) 624-1864