HITEC President David Olivencia addresses students at the NASA Must21st Century Leadership

09-08-10:Hispanic IT Executive Council(HITEC)President David Olivencia addresses students at the NASA Must 21st Century Leadership Symposium

Contact: Andre Arbelaez, Member, arbelaez28@gmail.com

Cleveland, OH - July 24, 2010- President of HITEC, David Olivencia, delivered the morning keynote address Building Ethical Leaders to Solve America’s STEM Gap to nearly 100 college students from across the country at the NASA MUST 21st Century Leadership Symposium.

The NASA Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology (MUST) project focuses on educating and nurturing emerging scientists and researchers. The project is a highly competitive opportunity that offers scholarships to underserved and underrepresented undergraduates pursuing science, technology engineering and math (STEM) degrees.

David Olivencia discussed the global demand for talent and the crisis that our country is going through to meet the STEM gap. He elaborated on how leadership and ethics work together to bridge this gap to protect our economic prosperity and keep STEM positions in the hands of workers in the United States.

"I would like to thank NASA for their dedication to solving the STEM challenges that our nation faces,” Olivencia said. "I am extremely impressed with the competency, professional demeanor and intelligence of these students and I am positive that these leaders are going to enhance our nations’ technological future. I commend NASA for their tremendous leadership in the STEM arena.”

About the NASA MUST Symposium
The NASA MUST Symposium is a unique opportunity that focuses on 21st Century Leadership Skills that have been observed by employers in a recent study as deficient and gives students the keys to succeed. Participants will also have the opportunity to expand on their regular college education and network with other students interested in the STEM industries. The attendees are generally minority students, largely of Latino/ Hispanic descent (65%), with a consistent track record of high performance.

About the Hispanic IT Executive Council:
HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) was founded by senior Hispanic IT executives who have built outstanding careers in information technology but realized that there are far too few Hispanics in the IT leadership role. With a strong desire and passion to make an impact within the Hispanic IT community by helping others reach the highest levels, HITEC was formed in late 2006. These national leaders include executives leading Fortune 500 corporations on both U.S. and global initiatives while others lead some of the largest Hispanic owned IT firms in the United States. For more information about the HITEC organization, visit