Washington, DC--LATISM, a national leading organization of Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media, will be returning to DC for their 7th annual convention, which is to be held at the JW Marriott October 28 to 30, 2015.

LATISM members, along with tech innovators, corporate leaders, policy experts, investors, and elected officials, will convene to showcase the contributions of the Latino community to technology, innovation, and economic growth. In addition, the conference will address the challenges and opportunities that we face as a nation with the continued shortage of STEM workers and a growing Hispanic population not equipped to fill the jobs of the next century. Latinos are projected to account for 75% of the growth in the nation’s labor force by 2020, therefore, Latinos are the country’s untapped resource to contribute to the next generation of innovators.

“I am delighted to join LATISM as Executive Director and look forward to building longer-term and strategic partnerships to implement programs that will create pathways to greater opportunities and economic mobility for the Latino community,” Executive Director Wendy Rivera said.

Given the upcoming election, a priority for the conference will be mobilizing Latinos to vote and advocate for policies to benefit the community. Hence, LATISM will include three additional tracks: Civic Engagement, Inclusion, and Policy. Furthermore, the national convention will continue to focus on the use of tech innovation and social media in the areas of Education, Health, Technology, and Business.

Per tradition, a 48-hour LATISM Hackathon will be hosted at the conference to challenge Latinos in Tech to build solutions to problems affecting the Hispanic community.

“Latinos have really captured the attention of marketers but we need to vote as much as we buy to capture the attention of Washington," LATISM Founder and Chair Ana Roca Castro said. “Hosting the conference in Washington this year was not an accident, we plan to get Washington to pay attention.”