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chamber board
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Tennessee operates as a non-profit corporation approved by the Secretary of State of Tennessee on February 23, 2004. Any person, association, corporation, partnership or estate having interest in the objectives of the organization can apply for membership. The Board of Directors is the governing body of the corporation and is currently composed by the following persons:
 Santiago Cuccarese
President
(865)544-1100 x 228
Email: santiago@hccet.org, santiago.cuccarese@gmail.com
Santiago Cuccarese was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he received his education and started his professional career.
He attended Universidad del Salvador, where he graduated with a double major in Advertising and Mass Media (1998), and UCES’s Master in Administration and Strategic Marketing (2002).
He has more than ten years experience working with large banks, international trade consultants and tire manufacturers and retailers as Product, Marketing and Business Unit Manager. He has expertise in marketing, new product and project management, business development, and advertising. He is currently in charge of the marketing area at Clayton Bank and Trust, Jim Clayton’s newest bank in Knoxville.
He is married to Maria de la Orden, an Environmental Engineer born in Uruguay and raised and educated in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They moved to Knoxville in September 2004 where they enjoy golfing and hiking.
 Roberto Martinez
Vice President
865-482-0928
Email: RobertoM@hccet.org
Roberto Martinez is originally from Mexico City, but moved to Knoxville in the summer of 1994 to further his education. After attending Pellissippi State Community College and The University of Tennessee, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Finance and collateral in International Business.
His professional career has included a range of diverse business related experiences with some of the best Fortune 500 companies such as Dillard's, Citigorup, and Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation. Currently, he has joined SunTrust Bank as a Assitant Vice President, Relationship Manager in the Commercial Banking department for Anderson, Knox and Loudon counties in East Tennessee.
His wife Macey, also a graduate from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters in Teacher Education is an Elementary Visual Art educator for Knox County Schools, and an Adjunct Art Education Faculty member for Tennessee Tech University.
In his free time, Roberto enjoys traveling with his family, participating in his daughter’s sports activities, and watching collegiate football.
 Jorge Chaparro
Treasurer
Email: jorge@hccet.org
Jorge Chaparro is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela. He first came to Tennessee in 1982 to obtain his college degrees. A Lincoln Memorial University graduate, Jorge holds an Associates Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Business Management.
His working & business experience covers a variety of fields: six years in small/medium size business management & marketing, 13 years experience in accounting/finance management positions in the automotive & capital equipment manufacturing. For a period of six years Jorge performed international trading from Tennessee to Venezuela.
Jorge is also a board of director member and treasurer for the Christian Women’s Job Corp of Loudon County –which is a non-profit organization that provides a context in which women in need are equipped for life and employment.
In 2006 Jorge was nominated to participate in Leadership Blount County, which is a community leadership enhancement and development program designed to identify and increase the number of community volunteers who support various organizations.
Jorge resides in Blount country with his wife Susan. She is an Elementary teacher for the Loudon County School system. They have two daughters Kaylan and Cristina.
 Elizabeth Bonilla
Secretary/Networking Events Coordinator
(865) 254-5356
Email: rudyelybonilla@yahoo.com
 Rossy Toledo
(865) 974-2715/(865)789-1286
Email: rossy@hccet.org, rtoledo@utk.edu
Rossy Toledo was born and raised in Mexico City. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994 with a B.S. in Advertising.
She has worked in different areas of the media world for the past 12 years, including radio and television advertising production and sales, print design and publishing. She arrived to Knoxville, TN in the year 2000. She got a M.A. in Spanish from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2002. She has been teaching Spanish full time and conducting research at the University of Tennessee since 2001. Her research interests are in the areas of Feminism, Gender Studies, Contemporary Latin American Literature and Cinema Studies. She continues to take graduate courses at the University in pursuit of her Doctoral degree and she serves as president of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Lecturer’s Association of the University of Tennessee.
Her passion for the marketing, advertising and media world continues. For this reason, she has designed a specialized course for Spanish for Communications Majors: Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations. She works independently as a Hispanic Marketing consultant. Rossy is currently collaborating with Wet Ink Solutions in the production of Hispanic Life Tennessee/ Vida Hispana Tennessee, a specialized web page that connects and informs the Hispanic community in East Tennessee.
 Ms. Patricia Robledo
Email:
Patricia Robledo is originally from Colombia, South America. She came to Knoxville to work for the 1982 World's Fair. She attended the University of Tennessee and then graduated with a double major in Biology and Medical Technology from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, MO.
Patricia is the owner of Robledo Translations, LLC, which since 1999 has served clients in both the public and private sectors including national retail and food service chains, television and telecommunications firms and health care providers. Patricia also served as a Contract Linguist for the federal government. She is a Certified Judicial Interpreter with the Tennessee Supreme Court and a member of ATA (American Translators Association), TAPIT (Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators) and NCIHC (National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.)
Patricia is a proud graduate of the 2005 Leadership Plenty Inaugural Class and of Leadership Knoxville Class of 2007 and has been chosen to be a University of Tennessee Chancellor's Associate. She is also on the board of directors of the East Tennessee Community Design Center, YWCA, the Bijou Theatre and is active in Hola-Hora Latina and the East Tennessee Civil Rights Working Group. Patricia is the proud recipient of the 2007 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award.
Patricia and her husband John W. Craig are partners in Segundo Properties, LLC, which specializes in the redevelopment of historic buildings. Their two beautiful children attend Knox County Public Schools.
D. Carolina Naar
Email: naardiana@hotmail.com
D. Carolina Naar was born and raised in Colombia. She attended Universidad de Los Andes and received her Bachelor's Degree in Microbiology with a Specialization in Marketing. After working in Colombia for more than five years, with local and international food companies, she moved to Australia to pursue a Master's of Applied Science. In Australia she worked for a beverage company in the area of Research and Development and obtained her degree from the University of South Australia.
Carolina moved to Knoxville in 2003 in order to obtain a Doctoral Degree in Food Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee. Her fluency in Spanish has helped with the training in Food Safety and Good Manufacturing/Agricultural practices to Hispanics, whom do not speak English and choose farming or food handling as a mean of earning income. She has also worked with small businesses interested in launching food products to the market.
In 2007, Carolina was nominated to participate in Leadership Knoxville. She is also involved with the program Spanish for Ministers, teaching Spanish as a second language.
Carolina resides in Knoxville with her husband Joe, who graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Master's Degree in Computer Science.
 Gladys Pineda-Smith
Email: GPSmith@stmaryshealth.com
Gladys is an accountant and member of the Diversity Council at St. Mary’s Health System in Knoxville, Tennessee.
A native of Colombia, Gladys began her professional career in 1996 as an accountant with the federal government of Colombia and was instrumental in the creation and implementation of a series of laws that continue to govern practices throughout Colombia’s health care sector. Her private practice focused on accounting procedures and controls, office organization, and financial reporting and analysis.
Gladys is a graduate of the University Javeriana at Cali, member of the 1996 Class of Leadership Manizales and Board member of the Colombian Association of CPAs. In addition to her work on diversity issues at St. Mary’s, she serves as a volunteer in several projects for the Hispanic community in East Tennessee.
Gladys and her son, Tommy, are active members of Sacred Heart Cathedral.
 Luis Velázquez
Executive Director
Telephone: (865) 246-2628; Cell: (865) 604-0049
Email: luis@hccet.org
Luis is originally from Puerto Rico, where he earned his degree as a Civil Engineer and initiated his professional career. In 1971, he moved with his family to the Chicago area where he started working for the Federal Government. After working 26 years for various agencies, he retired from the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge in December 1997. After enjoying full-time retirement for a few years, he found the opportunity to serve the Hispanic community when in 2001, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Inc., asked him to serve as a consultant for the Hispanic Project on a part-time basis. In this capacity, he visited over 100 Hispanic businesses and prepared the Directory of Hispanic Businesses in Upper East Tennessee. While involved in this project, he saw the need to have an organization that would work in support of Hispanic-owned businesses in the region. With this goal in mind and the expression of interest of various individuals, he initiated the process for establishing the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Tennessee (HCCET) by bringing together a group of business owners and professionals. After the official launching of HCCET in April 2005, the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Chamber appointed him to serve as Executive Director of the organization. In addition, he also serves as part of the Board of Directors of the National Kidney Foundation of East Tennessee, the Community Advisory Board of Alcoa, Inc., the Pellissippi State Foundation, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellors Associates, and the Empowerment Zone Small Business Loan Committee. Luis is a graduate of Leadership Knoxville Class of 2006 and of Leadership Plenty 2006. |
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