Cox Hispanic Heritage Month Program Celebrates Arizona´s Latino Leaders

Leaders to be featured in a one-of-a-kind campaign on print, online, radio, and television outlets

TUCSON, AZ ––This year marks fourteen years of Cox Communications Arizona celebrating Latino leaders in the Southern Arizona community during Hispanic Heritage Month. Cox has partnered with Arizona Bilingual newspaper and La Calienteradio to showcase local community leaders, including an outstanding Cox employee for their continued efforts in the communities they serve.

The Hispanic Heritage Month multi-media campaign includes a series of 30-second television spots highlighting outstanding Latino leaders. The spots will rotate on Cox channels during Hispanic Heritage Month and can also be viewed on YurView.com. With the help of Cox media partners, honorees’ stories will also appear on the pages ofArizona Bilingual newspaper and heard on La Caliente radio.

Since 2004, Cox has honored Latino leaders that demonstrate outstanding efforts to better their community in their own, unique way. Past honorees include Liz Rabago, Program Director for YWCA Tucson, Roberto Villasenor, former Tucson Chief of Police, Jaime Valenzuela, professional mariachi instructor and Marcela Molina, Director of Tucson Girls Chorus. The many Latino leaders honored over the past fourteen years have shown a vast array of diversity reflecting all aspects of the community.

“We thank wonderful leaders like Lia Pierse, Dora Martinez, Tony Lopez-Santiago, and our very own, Cesar Morales, who continue to make our community a better place.” said Lisa Lovallo, Market Vice President of Cox Communications Southern Arizona. “Each of one these leaders have made a tremendous difference in our community and we are excited to continue the Cox’s legacy of telling their stories during Hispanic Heritage Month.”

The 2018 honorees featured in the campaign include:

Lia Pierse- Executive Director, Helping Hands for Single Moms Tucson

Lia Pierse is the Executive Director of Helping Hands for Single Moms, which is a grass-roots nonprofit organization that supports impoverished single mothers and their families with various forms of assistance, while the moms pursue their education and reach financial independence. After over a decade of helping hundreds of single mothers earn a college degree, Helping Hands USA has launched its first affiliate organization Helping Hands for Single Moms Tucson.

Dora Martinez- Founder, Flowers and Bullets Collective

Working on a local farm, Dora realized the importance of making sure healthy food was accessible to underserved communities in Tucson and rural areas. This passion drove Dora to establish neighborhood garden collectives, which are run by a diverse group of neighbors, all with a passion for growing fresh food for their community. Dora hopes to turn more empty lots of land in Southern Arizona into a productive agriculture center, where she can continue to mobilize youth and neighbors to produce healthy food out of the space.

Tony Lopez-Santiago- Route Manager, Finley Distributing

Tony Lopez-Santiago currently serves as the Route Manager at Finley Distributing. Prior to his current position, Tony served as a branch manager for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Tony’s passion for the military and their families began as a child by moving from base to base as he proudly watched his father retire as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. With this, he’s enjoyed working retail for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service for 15 years with duties such as volunteer deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan. In 2008 and 2015, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism, symbolizing the achievements of civilians who directly support United States Military operations. He also received a Heroism Award in 2005 for rendering assistance to military personnel who were injured when struck by an oncoming truck.

Cesar Morales- Field Operations Supervisor, Cox Communications

Cesar Morales has been a Field Operations Supervisor with Cox for the last four years in Tucson. Born and raised in Yuma, he later moved to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. During his free time, Cesar enjoys camping and spending time outdoors with family and friends. He volunteers with his team at Cox during Thanksgiving preparing meals at local food banks for seniors and also volunteers with his son’s Boy Scouts troop and at his children’s schools.