PISCATAWAY, N.J. — September 15, 2026 — As New Jersey celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month and honors the contributions, achievements and leadership of its Latino community, the Latina Civic Foundation will mark a milestone of its own with the inaugural Latina Excellence Breakfast on Friday, October 9, 2026, at The Rutgers Club in Piscataway.

The event celebrates five years of the Latina Civic Foundation and a decade of advancing Latina leadership, civic engagement and public service. The breakfast will feature a historic leadership conversation with Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-09) and Congresswoman Analilia Mejia (D-11), New Jersey’s first and second Latina members of Congress. Their journeys to Congress mark a significant milestone in New Jersey’s political history and in the growing civic leadership of Latinas across the state.

The Latina Civic Foundation will also honor Zulima Farber, Esq., New Jersey’s first Latina Attorney General, the first female partner at the prestigious law firm Lowenstein Sandler, LLP., and a co-founder of the Latina Civic Foundation. Farber’s groundbreaking career and commitment to public service helped pave the way for generations of Latina leaders across New Jersey and beyond.

This event will also honor other New Jersey women leaders in public service who became firsts, “Las Primeras,” women who broke glass ceilings and created new possibilities for future generations. Among them are M. Teresa Ruiz, Senate Majority Leader for District 29; Annette Quijano, Speaker Pro-Tempore for District 20; Wilda Diaz, former Mayor of Perth Amboy; Yolanda Garcia-Balicki, Cumberland County Commissioner; and Silvia Catalan-Culnan, Deputy Mayor of Mount Laurel Township. Their trailblazing legacies embody the spirit of Latina Excellence.

“During Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate not only where we come from, but also the extraordinary contributions Latinas are making today and the future we are building together,” said María Del Cid-Kosso, Chair of Latina Civic Foundation. “The Latina Excellence Breakfast is an opportunity to honor the women who have broken barriers, created pathways for others, and demonstrated that our voices belong in every room where decisions are made. We are proud to celebrate this legacy while investing in the next generation of Latina leaders.”

"I spend my days in the rooms where policy is written, and I know what changes when a Latina is at that table, and what gets missed when she isn't," said Erika J. Nava, Vice Chair of the Latina Civic Foundation. "Las Primeras opened those doors. Our job now is to make sure the women coming behind them never have to open them alone."

Latina Civic Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to advancing Latina leadership through its educational programs, ELLA Wins, Latinas Building the Bench, and the Zulima Farber Cívica Academy. This celebration is made possible by the generous support of national partner organizations, including UnidosUS Action Fund and Latino Victory Foundation, with Univision serving as the celebration's founding corporate media sponsor.

The Latina Civic Foundation’s five-year milestone comes as New Jersey’s Latino community continues to play an increasingly important role in the state’s civic, economic and political life. Yet, according to Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) Latina representation  in New Jersey still lags behind at 5% of leaders across state and local government agencies and elected positions. The Latina Civic Foundation works in partnership with women organizations to shatter this statistic and advance women leadership in all aspects of public life.

To purchase sponsorships or tickets, visit latinacivicfoundation.org. For questions, reach out to sponsorship@latinacivicfoundation.org.

Latina Civic Foundation is a 501c3 non-partisan educational committee whose mission is to build a network of civic engagement that expands Latina women’s capacity to develop their leadership potential and impact policy change via civic engagement and public service.