SPEAKERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:
Hire our Pledge Motivational Speakers for your Educational and Cultural Events:
Our Pledge Speakers will always work within your budget!
Michael A. Rivera retired as Senior Associate in the Office of Career Services, State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY/Buffalo). He holds a Master Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and College Student Personnel, from SUNY/Buffalo, obtaining his BA from Buffalo State College.
He has been with the State University of Buffalo (UB) for over thirty-seven (37) years, first coming to work with the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) where he served as Assistant Director. After a few years with EOP, he was promoted to Associate Director, Office of Admissions and Records; and serving in Career Services until his retirement. In addition to this position, Rivera taught a “Career Development” class on campus and also served as an advisor to the various African American and Latino student groups and organizations.
Rivera is also well known in Buffalo and Erie County for his many years of involvement and participation in community and civic affairs. He is recognized as a distinguished educator and leader in the New York State Hispanic community. A Mexican-American, Rivera was the co-founder of the Puerto Rican-Chicano Committeee of Buffalo & Erie County of New York State. He was also a contributing editor to the Latin Journal. ***
Director/Producer/Writer: The CEO, founder and “heart and soul” of Caicedo Productions, Ms. Caicedo is an innovative writer, director and producer who has overseen more than 25 successful theatrical productions. Drawing upon her urban cultural experiences and extensive creativity, Ms. Caicedo has used her unique vision to produce and/or direct such projects and plays as Closer, The ONE Festival, Idiosyncrasy, Mastering Sex And Tortillas and Faded, among others. Ms. Caicedo has served as Theater Director for Project Reach Youth and Teatro El Puente, where she is a safe-sex educator. Currently, she is the Managing Theater Director for Teatro LA TEA at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, and Program Theater Director for the Loisaida Players at Loisaida Inc.
Contact us about hiring our Motivational Speakers: When contacting us, tell us what speaker, provide title of event, date, time, location, and contact person.
Miguel Montes lectures high school students on key preparations for college.... see his bio below.
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The Key to Getting into a College
A dose of the educational pledge will keep you educationally and spiritually healthy and away from the danger of catching Ignorance, which is a leading disease in our society. Get your free prescription at
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Financial Aid Expert
Financial Aid Strategist known as the “Dollar Scholar” who has helped thousands of students obtain MILLIONS of dollars. He is the author of “HU$TLE! How To Get College Cash By Using Street Smarts.” In addition, He also serves as an information source for USA Today, and was recently featured on Urban Wall Street.
Experience: His experience in financial aid spans two decades. His career started in the 1980s as a student where in five (5) years of college he accumulated over $30,000 in college funding. He graduated with an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree without paying a penny. He has worked as a financial aid administrator for institutions such as: Monroe College, Bronx, NY; Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY; The Ultrasound Diagnostic School, Elmford, NY; and College Careers, White Plains, NY. In 1991, he founded Sources for Students, an affordable service to help students and families obtain financial aid for college and related expenses.
Education: Paul has a BS degree in Business Public Management from SUNY Institute of Technology, Utica, New York, and an AA in Liberal Arts and Science from Mohawk Valley Community College, a Certificate of Completion from the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA), and a Certificate of Accomplishment from the H&R Block income tax course
.
Affiliations: Paul is a member of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA), National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), and the Information for Financial Aid Professional (IFAP).
Paul will help you maximize your financial aid opportunities by guiding you through the financial aid process. Students and/or their parents are counseled on an individual basis. Paul also prepares financial aid applications (FAFSA, CSS) for a nominal fee via mail, Internet or by appointment. Students utilizing his financial aid consulting service obtain an average of $33,000 for a private school and $21,000 for a public school, per year.
In addition, Paul also specializes in unusual circumstances dealing with:
1.Loss of employment.
Loss of employment. 2.Obtaining In-State tuition.
Obtaining In-State tuition. 3.Divorce and Separation.
Divorce and Separation. 4.Income verification
Income verification 5.Students over the age of 25 that didn’t registered with selective service.
Students over the age of 25 that didn’t registered with selective service. 6.Students seeking Independent Status.
Students seeking Independent Status. 7.Students with felonies.
Students with felonies. Paul Anthony Rivers ensures results by:
- Knowing the money numbers ahead of time.
- Executing the application process with speed and precision.
- Knowing about influence points: information that improves financial -aid packages with more scholarships/grants and less loans.
- Working directly with Financial Aid Administrators at colleges, universities and proprietary schools.
- Annually research on all private and public scholarships sources available based on your unique circumstances.
- Provide follow-ups on all of your financial aid paperwork
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An expert on getting you the financial aid you need to afford a college education. A must have speaker if you care about your childrens' college education
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Recipient of the 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Outstanding Community Service!
Michael A. Rivera:
A Latino Voice
in Higher
Education
Don't let our kids be denied a College Education!
TOP College Admissions & Financial Aid
SPEAKERS
Paul Anthony Rivers (Financial Aid)
Miguel A. Montes (Selecting a College)
"Learn the Value of an Education"
"The Keys to Getting into College"
"Finding the Money to pay for your College Education and related expenses"
Contact us and get the best team of experts to assist your child or students with getting into college and finding the money they need!
Tel. 212-860-2019
Our Educational Pledge Speakers are also represented by:
NUBIAN VOICES SPEAKERS BUREAU
Grace Hamler, Executive Director
AFRICAN AMERICAN & LATINO SPEAKERS
2190 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10037
Tel. 212-862-4822 and/or 718-916-8251
Presbyter
Available to address "Liberation Theology." Presbyter Reyes was born in Puerto Rico, and raised in New York City. Prior to joining the religious community, Rev. Reyes worked with the NYS Division for Youth where he provided counseling to youth-at-risk.
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Chief Operating Officer and Youth Organizer
The Educational Pledge
Lee Gordon (Chief Operating Officer) is a product of life-long community service. (His 70+ year old mother still serves as co-president of The Family Development Association of New York.). For the past four years, Mr. Gordon has served as a co-director of The Better Detroit Youth Movement, one of the better known non-profit groups in Southeast Michigan. Mr. Gordon’s primary duties included developing marketing communication products, and outreach strategies, overseeing a volunteer base of more than 200 adults, establishing a vital youth advisory board, formalizing community partnerships with elementary and high schools, developing a database of more than 75,000 people and groups who currently receive a monthly newsletter, and producing large-scale events such as a scholarship fair that annually awards more than $30 million in college scholarships to deserving juniors and senior high school students throughout Southeast Michigan. Applying his business acumen, and community and event organizing skills with his passion for uplifting children of color, Mr. Gordon uses a combination of media, live events and web and mobile technologies to efficiently collect youth resources and consistently connect them to communities of children. His mission is to prove we have all the resources to improve the quality of learning and life for today’s young generation. Mr. Gordon has authored “A Blueprint For Building Youth Movements” which serves as a model for the formation of new youth movements in Baltimore and in Brooklyn, NY, where he currently resides. He’s now focusing his efforts on building a national youth movement, and this year, three more youth movements are planned in Atlanta, Texas and California. Mr. Gordon brings valuable resources and skills that will expand The Educational Pledge Partnership’s vision to enrich the quality of life and learning for children, teens and young adults.
Lee Gordon is committed to buiding a national youth movement
Inspired by the lifestyles of athletes, actors and other millionaires, Jim Hernandez knew that he wanted more out of life than a 40 hour work week at a dead-end job.
If those people could come from humble backgrounds and achieve greatness, so could he, and so can other young people!
Jim Hernandez has been a motivational speaker since 2009. His specialty is speaking with youth and young adults, teaching them to expand their personal and educational horizons, designed to help them change their “train of thought” so that they can begin to take direct control of their lives and allow them to see that there is more to life than what they know and are accustomed to.
Jim Hernandez is a fanatic of enlightenment and empowerment and loves sharing knowledge with young people and their families.
He is also a mentor with the One-on-One Mentoring Program (Bronx, NY), and makes it his business to embody the message that he speaks.
Using his passion and vision, Hernandez developed the CREATE your LIFE Development series program which brings and introduces motivational speaking and personal development strategies to inner city youth.
His goal is to continue learning and experience as much as life warrants him, and to continue sharing his positive growth and development with the young generation, especially in communities of color.
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Miguel has twenty-seven (27) years of experience in local and state public educational institutions, assisting thousands of individuals with gaining access to higher education through presentation made in every public and private high school in New York City, and by meeting with groups and individual students, counselors and parents; and assisting students’ complete admissions and financial aid /scholarship applications.
In addition, he has created and executed training workshops in professional development and customer service; and has counseled thousands of individuals in academic/career planning. His passion has been to assist individuals in developing and realizing their academic and career aspirations while recognizing their individuals skills, values and greatest overall potential.
As the former Assistant Vice Chancellor for Metropolitan Enrollment and Hispanic Affairs for the State University of New York, Miguel developed several initiatives exposing students to colleges through lectures and workshops on how to prepare for college admissions and how to research, identify and apply for financial aid with an emphasis on scholarships.
Miguel is presently completing his book on the “ABCs of Youth Self-Development”, a guidebook for teenagers to learn and appreciate the value of Words, Education, and Self-Development. Miguel is also the educational editor of the East Harlem Journal.
The Nubian Voices Lady
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(Educational Pledge Founder)
Recently retired from the NYC Human Resources Administration (May 1, 2010) where he served as Director of Community Affairs and Special Projects. He has over thirty-five (35) years experience in government and educational services, including the State University of New York at Buffalo, New York State Division for Youth, NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation, and the NYC Human Resources Administration. Cappas also has an extensive record as a community activist and innovator. He is listed as publisher of the Buffalo Latino Journal (weekly), Editor of Hispano News (weekly), English Editor of Hispanic Village Press (monthly), and the publisher of the New Tomorrow (monthly). Alberto was also a member of the Attica Observers Committee, a group that was invited to Attica Prison (by the inmates) to negotiate prison demands with the Governor and prison authorities. Alberto is also a published writer/poet, author of several books, (“Never too late to make a U-turn”, and “Lessons for Myself”), including the Educational Pledge, which has been widely published and utilized by groups, organizations, publications, and individuals. His poetic work is included in a mural on the Allen Street Transit Station, Buffalo, NY...
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The Educational Pledge
works with Nubian Voices Speakers Bureau
to ensure that we provide you the speakers you need for your special events or workshops. All our speakers require professional fees
plus room and board,
and transportation.
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Educational Pledge Workshops:
For Middle School and High School Groups
Each workshop takes abouit one hour, and we provide a 30-minutes prep time for the middle school population...
Preparing for Senior Year. Here is a sample of what we cover in an educational & financial aid presentation:
How to conduct a Scholarship Search
Time Management
SUNY/CUNY/Private Colleges
How much do colleges cost?
How do I pay for it?
How to Pick/Select the right College
If I am not interested in College, what are my alternatives?
Seniors
Making the final College choice!
How to Survive Freshman Year College!
Budgeting
Loans/Scholarships
On-going Contacts & Resources
Note: We charge $500 per workshop ($5,000 total package), but will work with your budget (based on your financial availability) to make this happen! We truly believe in passing the educational torch to our young generation to ensure a healthy future for all.... Fees do not include room & board, or transportation.
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Buy The Educational Pledge Gift Tote Bag
What you Get!
Pledge Tote Bag
Pledge Hat
Pledge Pen
Pledge Flyer
T-Shirt
Pull up your pants Flyer
Pledge Magnet
and two books:
1. Never too late..., and
2. Lessons for Myself
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Excellent gift for :
students, school counselors, teachers, and community groups
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