National Hispanic Business Association

Mr. Peña comes to the NHBA with a diverse background in Non-Profit Management, Advocacy and Business. David Peña is a graduate of St. Edward's University with a BA in Political Science. He was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow at The Graduate School of Political Management and is a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio's Certification program in Non-Profit Management and Leadership.

Mr. Peña was CEO and Partner of Ambulance Transportation Services LLC (ATS), Executive Director for the Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships (VAMOS) of McAllen, Texas and Director of Advocacy for the Southwest Region with the American Heart Association. He is also a Texas Notary Public.

David’s professional accomplishments are as varied as his career. He has been a candidate for political office at the age of 23, a business owner, a lobbyist and fundraiser, but perhaps his greatest accomplishment is what he has achieved over the past three years as Executive Director for the National Hispanic Business Association.
As the First Executive Director for the national association, David transitioned the NHBA from an undergraduate loosely joined association into the largest undergraduate association for Hispanics who are majoring in Business. Through his leadership NHBA has doubled in the number of chapters from 22 to 41 chapters in 14 states that include UT Austin, Harvard, UC Berkeley and Notre Dame to name a few, and increased membership by 300%.

He has also led the effort to expand the associations programs and events throughout the year, and hold four regional collegiate symposiums, a summer leader’s conference and the annual leadership conference and career fair that hosts over 800 students from over 48 colleges and universities.

Moreover, David has leveraged his lack of staff and limited resources through local and national strategic partnerships in order to continue the growth in membership and its programs.

He secured leadership training by partnering with the Monster Diversity Leadership Program, Career development by partnering with the Authors of the Complete Job Search Guide for Latino’s, Internship opportunities by partnering with the Diversity Pipeline Alliance and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.

He guided the association through its transition from a student run association, expansion of its programs, development of a web based presence, diversification of its fundraising and the development and implementation of a three year national strategic plan.
Mr. Pena has provided leadership, infrastructure, growth and development to an idea that was developed by a group of UT students and has evolved into a national association that impacts hundreds of students, developing their leadership and professional skills while opening the doors to careers in corporate America that will impact the lives of Hispanic business students for generations to come.