Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Breaks Records for Registered Attendees at Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Oct. 28-Nov. 1

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Breaks Records for Registered
Attendees at Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Oct. 28-Nov. 1
Grand Opening of new D.C. offices will kick off conference

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 5,000 Hispanic students,
professionals, corporate leaders, educators and community leaders are expected
to attend the largest Hispanic technical conference in the nation, the 2009
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Conference in Washington,
D.C., taking place from Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2009. The registration numbers
surpassed 2008 numbers, which were the largest in the organization's history.

SHPE will kick off its conference with the grand opening of its new offices in
Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The Washington office will allow SHPE
to heighten awareness of the need for a national platform to increase the
number of Latinos in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
fields. The D.C. office is SHPE's third office, with the other two located in
Los Angeles and Dallas.

Now in its 33rd year, the SHPE Conference will see the nation's top talent,
brilliant minds, cutting edge corporations and governmental agencies come
together to advance the STEM profession through a series of interactive
seminars, workshops, hands-on skills development, two-day Career Expo, and
STEM competitions. Thousands will gather from throughout the nation to
recognize the top talent that embodies the spirit and essence of SHPE's
mission.

In addition, programs for middle and high school students aim to inspire youth
to consider opportunities in STEM fields and provide them with successful
Latino models of professionals in those fields. Events will take place at the
Washington Convention Center and at the Marriott Wardman, Omni Shoreham and
Renaissance Washington DC hotels.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Hispanics represented 13.1 percent
of the total labor force in 2005, but only 5.8 percent of engineers. The
population of students in the U.S. today is not prepared to take on the
mathematic and scientific challenges the future will present. U.S. students
ranked 20th out of 37 countries in eighth grade math and 19th out of 37
countries in eighth grade science

During a briefing with then-President Elect Barack Obama's staff in D.C.
before his inauguration, SHPE leadership shared concerns regarding the urgent
need to increase the number of U.S. engineers in our country and shared
information on steps SHPE is taking to increase the number of Latinos in the
science, technical, engineering and math fields.

"The nation must come together to increase the number of talent in the STEM
fields to ensure that our country's economy will continue to grow and prosper.
SHPE is committed to being in the forefront of inspiring, training and
promoting Latinos in the STEM fields," said Manny Hernandez, SHPE National
President. "The opening of SHPE's Washington office is a big step in
increasing awareness of the crisis facing our country in the STEM fields, and
educating our nation's leaders about how SHPE is uniquely positioned to
address this national crisis."

"SHPE is looking at hosting the largest conference in our history, surpassing
last year's record numbers. I am proud to chair this important conference and
thank the many corporations, governmental agencies, volunteers and supporters
that are joining with SHPE to break history," said Monique Jackson, Chairwoman
of the D.C. SHPE 2009 Conference. "Over 200 organizations will come together
to hire our top Latino talent at our Career Expo, we have over 3,000 resumes
on our site, and a tremendous array of workshops and training to ensure our
community's success in the STEM fields."

Highlights of the SHPE Conference in D.C. include:
-- Grand opening of D.C. offices
-- Latina Luncheon honoring outstanding contributions of Latinas to STEM
field, Secretary of Labor, Secretary Hilda L. Solis will be in
attendance
-- Congressional reception honoring elected officials that support SHPE's
mission
-- Professional development strategy series, engineering programs as
well
as certification tracks
-- The AHETEMS Pre-College Symposia for hundreds of local D.C.-area
middle
school students and high school students from across the nation.
-- Awards and recognition honoring professionals, educators, graduate and
undergraduate students, and high school students
-- Academic, professional, career and leadership workshops
-- Competitions including the National Academic Olympiad Show (played in
the spirit of the famed TV game show Jeopardy!), Extreme Engineering,
Design Competition, and Technical Competitions
-- Specialized graduate student institute and a graduate school
preparation
program
-- Salute to Corporate America Luncheon, honoring SHPE's corporate
partners
-- Gala Banquet honoring SHPE's "Company of the Year" and role models
winning the 2009 STAR (or SHPE Technical Achievement Recognition)
Awards
-- Career Fair attended by more than 200 of the nation's top companies
and
organizations offering full-time and internship opportunities

-- Corporate tours

SHPE is the source for quality Hispanic engineers and technical talent,
committed to enhancing America's position in math, science, engineering and
technology with a strong and talented Hispanic workforce. For registration
and other information, visit www.shpe.org.

SOURCE Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

Lauren Dugger, +1-214-373-1601, ldugger@sunwestpr.com, or Leigh Goodall,
+1-214-373-1601, lgoodall@sunwestpr.com, both of Sunwest Communications, for
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers