Bard Alumna and Managing Director of La Voz Named One of New York Hispanic Coalition's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Mariel Fiori ’05, founding editor and managing director of La Voz, has been named one of the Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc.’s 2012 40 Under 40 Rising Stars. La Voz is an independent monthly Spanish-language magazine aimed at bridging the Anglo and Hispanic cultures in the Hudson Valley region. The 40 Under 40 Rising Stars program recognizes members of the Hispanic/Latino community under the age of 40 who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and achievements in the areas of business, educations, politics, nonprofit sector, community service, and more. The Rising Stars have demonstrated a quality of performance that indicates they are leaders among their peers and will continue to develop into distinguished members in their community.

“Accepting the status quo is not part of my blood, my raising, or background. This means that we need to use whichever tools we possess (i.e., education, network, time and/or money) to help improve the part of the world where we live,” says Fiori. “Because my talents lie in communications, I try to use them to help Latinos in New York State lead a successful and productive life─which is actually the reason many of us came here: to achieve our version of the American dream─mostly, through La Voz magazine.”

Fiori is the cofounder and managing editor of La Voz, which seeks to empower the Hispanic population of the Hudson Valley region through actionable information. In the spring of 2004, Fiori and Emily Schmall ’05 released the first issue of La Voz. Despite the growing immigrant population, there was no Spanish-language news source in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Upon graduation from Bard in May 2005, Fiori presented a proposal to Leon Botstein, the college’s president, in which she envisioned La Voz reaching a wider population through a larger circulation, greater distribution channels and frequency. She was hired as the managing editor of La Voz in September 2005. Today, with the contributions of student and nonstudent writers, La Voz prints 5,000 copies every month and reaches more than 20 towns in four counties.

A journalist and translator, Fiori was born in Buenos Aires. She received her B.A. in Spanish and Latin American and Iberian studies from Bard College and her M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Before coming to the United States in 2003, she lived and worked for two years in Spain, and previously in Buenos Aires, where she earned a degree in journalism and studied legal and commercial English-Spanish translation at the Catholic University of Argentina. She has worked for different mass media groups and independent media in Argentina, Spain, and the United States as a researcher, writer, translator, editor, and radio and television producer. Carrie J. Ross, from the Kingston Times, wrote about Fiori: “Mariel Fiori has been dedicating her life to the business of dissemination: stories, information, energy, contacts, ideas, projects, beliefs, education, attitudes, and voices.” Fiori was interviewed for the book Poder de Mujer (Power of Woman) by Mariela Dabbah.

In 2010, La Voz received a special citation from the Dutchess County Executive Arts Awards. The magazine has been the recipient of three IPPIES awards for best overall design from the New York Community Media Alliance. For more information about La Voz, please visit http://lavoz.bard.edu.

PHOTO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT: www.bard.edu/news/press

 
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This event was last updated on 03-07-2012

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