2021 Prospanica Awards
This month, Nativa Partner Eric Diaz will be honored as the recipient of the prestigious Brillante Award for Entrepreneurship Excellence granted by Prospanica for his exceptional contributions and leadership capabilities focused on the Hispanic community. This honorable recognition is due to Eric’s service, leadership, and social responsibility.
Helping Organizations Engage Multicultural Audiences
As a Prospanica award winner, Eric sets an example within the field of entrepreneurship as a leader whose professional and personal goals are intertwined and produce great results. With Nativa, the projects Eric has worked on involve connecting organizations and brands with the Hispanic and multicultural market, which has enabled important communication between both parties.
In recent years, Eric has led Nativa in projects to provide important messaging to diverse groups historically left out of the communication plan. In 2020, Nativa worked with the Maricopa County (Arizona) Recorder’s Office and Elections Department to ensure information about registering to vote, requesting mail-in ballots, and drop-off deadlines for ballots were shared with the Hispanic community in English and Spanish.
In 2021, faced with economic and health challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Nativa was brought on to reach diverse populations throughout the state of Ohio about the free resources available to them. Eric led the digital marketing strategy for Nativa’s targeted advertising approach in 8 languages (including Nepali, Somali, Swahili, Urdu, and more) resulting in thousands of phone calls for assistance for immigrant families.
Service, Leadership, And Social Responsibility
Eric’s leadership is exemplified further through his other ventures. Eric serves on the Board of Collectivo, a non-profit concentrated on providing a vibrant community for marketing and media professionals who serve the Hispanic market. A program of Collectivo is the Latinx Influencer Workshop that has graduated over 25 business owners and guides primarily Latinas to take their own social media channels to the next level where they can work and be paid by well-known brands both locally and nationally.
Eric acknowledges the importance of giving back to the community. With Nativa Eric has mentored over 85 interns since 2009 in their first professional roles in advertising. He personally writes a letter of recommendation for each student to share with prospective employers and has helped them land roles at Carvana, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber, Greater Phoenix Chamber, Progressive Insurance, and more. Additionally, Eric is a professor at Phoenix College, an institution that primarily serves Black and Hispanic students. Due to current circumstances with Covid-19, Eric has shifted his classes online and invited over 30 Hispanic and Black industry leaders to speak to his students virtually.
“I am extremely grateful for this award. I have preached the value of Prospanica/NSHMBA since 2005 and will continue to do this so that other young Hispanic professionals may have the same opportunities they have helped me achieve.“
Eric Diaz
About Prospanica
Prospanica commends individuals and organizations that have brought meaningful impact on the Hispanic community at large in areas such as economics, social well-being, and education. This organization was founded in 1988 and has advocated for business professionals ever since its founding. Given Prospanica’s expertise in the industry, they offer scholarships, services, and awards to leaders to empower them in their future developments. Eric is honored to be a Prospanica award winner for the first time.
