FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             MEDIA CONTACT
June 16, 2008                                               Yvette Nunez, 267-296-7346

APM PRESIDENT AND CEO NILDA RUIZ WINS HISPANIC CHOICE AWARD FOR FAVORITE COMMUNITY ADVOCATE

Now retired APM Vice President of Health Services Iris Caballero receives Favorite Medical Professional

Philadelphia, PA—Nilda Ruiz, President and CEO of Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, was honored with the 2008 Hispanic Choice Award for Favorite Community Advocate at the annual event, presented by the Hispanic Yellow Pages at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Ruiz, whose nomination was a first in the event’s four year history, has been praised as a homegrown voice for the Latino community since returning to Philadelphia after six years with National Council of La Raza in 2005. “To return home and have a position that allows me to speak on behalf of not only the community APM serves, but the community in which I was raised is an honor in and of itself,” commented Ruiz, “but to be acknowledged by the voters for mine and APM’s efforts to ensure that we are on both sides of the table is a great reward for doing what I believe I was born to do.”

            Ruiz, who earned an MBA from Eastern University and served as the Senior East Coast Community Development Director for the National Council of La Raza, has lead the agency to its recent listing as one of the Top 25 Hispanic Nonprofits in the nation in the May 2008 issue of Hispanic Business magazine. Ruiz was the Co-Chair and only Latina on Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s Transition Team, and has since been appointed to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.

The Hispanic Choice Awards is a production of the Hispanic Yellow Pages; publishers of Hispanic directories serving Philadelphia and South Jersey. The 2008 Hispanic Choice Awards received more than 15,000 votes for all categories, including categories as diverse as Favorite Institute of Higher Education and Favorite Barber Shop. 

About Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha, Inc.

Established in 1971, the Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha is a not-for-profit organization created to promote the welfare and empowerment of the Latino and African-American community, as well as low income and other disadvantaged residents of the Delaware Valley.