This July, the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (UCLA LPPI) Latino Data Hubn (LDH) (LDH), with the support of Casey Family Programs, attended the Unidos US “Our Time is Now” Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout the conference, the UCLA LPPI team hosted a booth demonstrating the LDH platform to attendees.

The sold-out conference, which took place July 15 – July 17 brought together over 1,500 attendees from nationwide nonprofit, corporate, and philanthropic leaders who serve Latino communities

At the event, Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, director of research at UCLA LPPI, opened the plenary session Creating Healthier Communities: Transforming Systems for Latino Well-Being. Speaking before 500 conference attendees, he shared how the Latino Data Hub (LDH) has already transformed how we are Latino communities are understood and seen by bridging the data gap through an easy-to-use digital platform that is free to use and available to all. 

“Our community continues to be incredibly powerful, and the power of Latinos will only continue to increase, said Dominguez-Villegas. “The presence of so many leaders is always amazing, humbling, and energizing, making us realize the power we have and how much we still need to build.” 

On Wednesday, the team hosted a private in conjunction with (ICW) session with 15 Unidos US affiliates. During this meeting, the team provided attendees with a private showcase of the free platform and collected feedback on its current functionalities and ideas for expansion/improvement to better serve their organizations.

Sharing her thoughts on the conference’s significance, Gabby Carmona, senior research analyst at UCLA LPPI, expressed the importance of connecting with others who put research into action. 

“Our work here was inspiring, especially in having an opportunity to share about the Latino Data Hub tool as a resource for organizations eager for more data,” said Carmona. “While working in our research silos, we often recognize the importance of our work but don’t always see its direct impact. It was humbling and heartwarming to witness the dedication and efforts of so many organizations that have boots on the ground.” 

The three-day conference featured inspiring remarks from CEO and President of Unidos US, Janet Murguía, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Rep. Steven Horsford, and Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguila.