Binational Mexican American Youth Leaders Conference 2025

October 27, 2025

Arlington, Texas | October 23–24, 2025 — The E.H. Hereford University Center at The University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) hosted the Second Binational Mexican American Youth Leaders Conference (#bmaylc2025), organized by Fuerza Migrante in collaboration with the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS).

Over two days, young people, academics, community leaders and authorities from Mexico and the United States shared experiences and proposals on migration, education, entrepreneurship, health and binational leadership, with the aim of strengthening bridges of collaboration and opening pathways for civic participation and development for the Mexican and Mexican American community.

The conference was built around a series of themed panels addressing the main challenges and opportunities facing the binational community. The panel The State of Immigration featured Tania J. Omaña Amador, an immigration attorney, and Sergio Infanzón, Director of Communications and Community Relations for the City of Huntington Park.

On the panel The State of Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity, Ana Valdez, CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative, and Juan José Li, Senior Economist at BBVA Research, examined the economic landscape, entrepreneurship and development opportunities for the Mexican American community.

Access to education was addressed on the panel The State of Education Access, with Melody Gonzales, founder of Hope and Power Strategies and former executive director of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, along with María Yareli Delgado, Senior Director of Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives at UT Arlington.

The health and well-being of the binational community were the focus of the panel The State of Healthcare Access, featuring Jorge Ortega Márquez, MD, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and a specialist in precision neurological rehabilitation, and Jesús Miguel López Baltazar, PhD, who presented the discussion Roots to Research: Building Binational Bridges in STEM Education.

The program also included keynotes and discussions led by Patricia Avendaño Durán, President Councilor of the Mexico City Electoral Institute (IECM); Jesica García López and Silverio Mayoral Lechuga, education analysts and presenters with the Ludoteca Cívica program; and Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, an activist and international speaker, who delivered the lecture Origin is not destiny.

The gathering closed with a keynote by Dr. Javier González Rocha, an aerospace engineer, who highlighted the value of binational talent and academic training as engines of opportunity and social mobility.

We continue building binational leadership! With the support of speakers, authorities, participating young people and the UT Arlington team, Fuerza Migrante reaffirms its commitment to strengthening educational, professional and leadership ties between Mexico and the United States, fostering spaces where the binational community can organize, learn and make an impact.

Institutional presence and binational allies

We thank and recognize the participation of the authorities and representatives who joined this edition: