CPR connects California reproductive justice issues on HuffPo-LA
December 7, 2009 by Admin
Camino client California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) debuts today on HuffPost-L.A. helping to launch the new site! CLRJ executive director takes a hard look at the local impact of national health care reform debates on women and immigrants, particularly California Latinas, in Stupak: The Worst Case Scenarios for Latinas. CLRJ and ACCESS/Women’s Health Coalition recently held a successful statewide call-in day of action to raise California voices to demand health care reform efforts include the needs of women and immigrant communities.
Last week, The Huffington Post launched HuffPost L.A., a new site designed to examine California and Los Angeles politics and culture. According to Arianna Huffington, “we intend to make HuffPost LA a must-click destination for engaged Angelenos looking to keep up with the latest on all things LA. And we’ll share the stories of the people whose lives are affected by the issues in the news: foreclosed homeowners, families battling wildfires in their neighborhoods or water main breaks in their front yards, parents searching for the best schools, and small business owners driving the city’s economic recovery.” Recent posts include those by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other political, entertainment, and non profit figures in Los Angeles and California.
Congratulations CLRJ!
Click here to read the full post.
Camino PR client, NLIRH, featured in Sotomayor confirmation media coverage
August 10, 2009 by Admin
Hispanosphere, the prominent Latino current events and politics blog for The Orlando Sentinel, covered NLIRH in its round-up of national expert commentary on Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Featured alongside Tim Kaine of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Karen L. Thurman, Florida Democratic Party Chair, SEIU, the National Partnership for Women & Families, National Council of La Raza, among others, the nation’s leading Latina voice for reproductive health and rights was quoted as saying, “The Senate confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor heralds a new era of diversity in our courts. Judge Sotomayor offers inspiration for Latinas as her confirmation has challenged stereotypes and demonstrated the growing political power of the Latino community,” said Silvia Henriquez, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). Judge Sotomayor will play a pivotal role in promoting the dignity and well being of our families and our communities. Her confirmation signals hope for not only expanded legal access to abortion but also for expanded social access to the full range of reproductive health care, such as health care funding for poor women. Judge Sotomayor’s body of work and judicial philosophy reveals a sophisticated analysis of social issues and the important role of the court in safeguarding human dignities.”
And, in more exciting news, on the week that Judge Sotomayor begins her new role as Supreme Court Justice, NLIRH will host a national ‘Quinceañera’ gala to celebrate the coming-of-age of a new era of Latina empowerment. NLIRH was founded fifteen years after the first Latina was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and fifteen years later we are ready to toast the first Latina to sit on the nation’s highest court. Camino PR is proud to celebrate this tremendous achievement with NLIRH.
Camino PR client NLIRH makes the Wall Street Journal today!
July 21, 2009 by Admin
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) announcement of its support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor got picked up in the Wall Street Journal Washington Wire. NLIRH is the only latina reproductive health and justice advocacy group to date to be quoted in any national news outlets on the nomination. We expect Silvia Henriquez and her team to stay in the spotlight as Judge Sotomayor moves closer to making history on the Supreme Court. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect - NLIRH celebrates its 15th anniversary at a major Washington DC gala just as the new Supreme Court begins their work in October. The “Quincineara” celebration for NLIRH marks a new coming-of-age for the Latino/a civil rights movement, and seeing Judge Sotomayor starting her new job will be a fitting tribute to NLIRH’s 15 years of leadership. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/07/21/after-waiting-weeks-abortion-rights-group-backs-sotomayor/
Reaching diverse audiences: CPR connects non profits with ethnic media
July 16, 2009 by Admin
Did you know– According to New American Media, ethnic media is the “fastest growing sector of American journalism”? With more than 51 million adult followers, and 3,000 ethic media outlets, are you maximizing your organization’s voice with these audiences? This week at Planned Parenthood’s national conference, Elizabeth Toledo, president of Camino Public Relations and a leader in strategic ethnic media communications, will train community organizers, communications specialists, activists and advocates from across the country on how to connect and reach diverse audiences as part of their social justice campaigns. To learn more about this and other forms of the media, visit CPR at http://caminopr.com.
Camino client publishes groundbreaking health & safety research
July 8, 2009 by Admin
Congratulations to Planned Parenthood for their groundbreaking research on increasing patient health and safety, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Leading health reporters nationwide are publishing articles about Planned Parenthood’s proactive work. Columbia University professor Beverly Winikoff is quoted in the Associated Press story, “this is the first really huge documentation of how safe and effective medical abortion is. The technology is very good and very well used in this country, and probably will be used more.”
Camino PR is dedicated to supporting access to safe, reliable medical care. We are proud to support Planned Parenthood’s work.
Andrea Hagelgans joins the Camino PR family
July 6, 2009 by Admin
Andrea Hagelgans has joined the Camino PR family as the new Director of Media Relations. Andrea is a national communications strategist who has worked on some of the nation’s toughest and cutting-edge issues, such as reproductive health and justice, public defense and the death penalty, and climate change. In addition to developing and implementing strategic communications plans, Andrea focuses on building organizational capacity through trainings on emerging new media, crisis communications and messaging.
When not sprinting to the phone to answer reporter calls, Andrea can be found training for her next marathon in Central Park. She’s run seven marathons, including a Boston Marathon PR of 3:21! She lives in New York with her Chef husband (hence, the running) and her Brittany Spaniel dog.
CPR Welcomes “Baby Boy Guidera” To The World!
June 3, 2009 by Admin
CPR’s visual artist extraordinaire, Mary Guidera Fason, gave birth on Monday to “Baby Boy Guidera”, a beautiful and healthy boy who weighed in at a sturdy 7 1/2 lbs. Congratulations Mary and welcome to the world of social justice, Baby Boy G!
Camino PR helps put Latina health needs in the news!
May 13, 2009 by Admin
The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and Planned Parenthood Federation of America were the focus of a Chronicle of Philanthropy article about President Obama’s budget proposals. Cecile Richards and Silvia Henriquez had eloquent quotes about the need to put public health care needs ahead of politics. Click here for the original article, the full text below:
May 08, 2009
2010 Federal Budget
Two Women’s Health Groups Criticize President’s Budget
Officials from two women’s health and family planning groups have released statements expressing concern and disappointment over President Obama’s 2010 budget, released yesterday.
Officials from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health– said in new releases that they were discouraged that the Obama administration did not seek to strike restrictions on government financing of abortions.
“We are disappointed that the budget did not remove restrictions on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive heath-care services, said Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s president. “Placing onerous restrictions on women is not effective public policy.” She added that her group plans to encourage the president and Congress to remove the restrictions.
Officials at National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health said Hispanic women make up almost 25 percent of women who are of reproductive age and who rely on Medicaid. Silvia Henriquez, the organization’s director said the decision to retain such restrictions, especially in a time of financial crisis for many people, “perpetuates a two-tier system in the U.S.: women with private health insurance or private funds can access abortion, but poor women cannot.”
Ms. Richards, of Planned Parenthood, said while such restrictions were disappointing, other requests in the budget were “a step in the right direction.” Among them: efforts to fight pregnancy among teenagers.
Ms. Richards also said a $10-million increase in the Title X family planning program, bringing support for the program up to $317-million, while “modest” was good news, but that more needed to be done for the program so it could keep up with inflation and demand.
Camino Collections: Humor and More
January 15, 2009 by Admin
Our work is not funny, but we can learn a lot from those who are. That’s why we at Camino PR join the millions of people who tune in to news comedy shows like the Daily Show. Watching Jon Stewart reflect on the absurdity of the day’s events is like tuning in to the Olympics of sound bites.
Those of us who believe in public relations as a vehicle to spark social change are generally a serious bunch. We chose this collection of cartoons to launch Camino PR for two reasons. One, humor helps us be creative people. And two, in a rapidly changing news environment where parody news can too often provides more authentic insight than some ideologically-driven news outlets, this book recognizes the complicated landscape for communications professionals.
When funny people are also committed to social justice, their influence is enormous. Victor Borge wrote that laughter is the shortest distance between two people. A few years ago Molly Ivins wrote her last column, which said “…rasie hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous…”
I know Camino PR will help you have an impact on the public discourse. For some levity along the way, let us know if you could use the Camino PR book of Cartoons. Here are some of our favorites.
CPR partners with Service Employees International Union
January 15, 2009 by Admin
CPR provides communications support to the Service Employees International Union, including messaging and media relations work and strategic communications advice on the union’s effort to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure that would ensure workers the freedom to choose to form a union without employer interference or intimidation.