Speaker is selected for Hispanic heritage event

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He is director of Ohio's
Department of Public Safety.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University alumnus Henry Guzmán will be the keynote speaker during the Hispanic Heritage Conference on Sept. 21 at YSU.

The conference is the key event for the area's observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, and it will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center.

The conference theme this year is ¡Querer Es Poder! (Where There is a Will, There is a Way!)

In addition to the keynote speaker, the conference will include a flag ceremony with area Hispanic school children displaying heritage flags from 22 Hispanic countries, a dance presentation by Raices Latina and refreshments. Participants can park free in the M-1 Parking Deck on Wick Avenue. The event is free and open to everyone.

Guzmán was appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland in February to serve as the director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety. He had previously served as director of the Columbus Department of Public Service. He has also served as the vice chair of the executive board of the Franklin County Emergency Agency and as a member of the policy board of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Past positions, accomplishments

From 1999 to 2002, Guzmán served as director of the Department of Public Safety for Cleveland, where he also served from 1992 to 1999, as the director of the Department of Public Service. From 1990 to 1992, Guzmán served as director of program development for the Ohio attorney general.

A native of Villiaba, Puerto Rico, Guzman was raised in Youngstown. He is a U.S. Army veteran, earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor for his service in Vietnam.

Guzmán received his bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from YSU in 1977 and pursued a year of graduate study in the master's degree program of the Antioch Law School in Washington, D.C., where he was awarded a Certificate in Equal Opportunity Law. He is a 2001 graduate of the Leadership Cleveland Class and received certification in the Senior Executives of State and Local Government from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Henry and his wife, Nydia, have four grown children and nine grandchildren.

Thursday, August 2, 2007