Esperanza Velásquez

As co-founder of the Mississippi Hispanic Association (MHA), Mrs. Velásquez served as the first MHA president and a Board Member for five years (1995-2000). Mrs. Velásquez currently serves as Chair of the Board and as fund-raiser for the “Run to the Latin Beat” 5K 2016.

Mrs. Velásquez is from Colombia, South America, where she attained a Bachelor’s degree in Languages, emphasis in Spanish, and taught Spanish for many years before she moved to Mississippi in 1982. She has an Associate’s degree from Hinds Community College (HCC) in Programming and Data Processing; a Master’s degree from Jackson State University (JSU) in Education, emphasis in Spanish; and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at JSU in Early Childhood Education, emphasis in reading. Mrs. Velásquez taught at HCC from 1987 to 1993 as an adjunct instructor. In 1987, she became the first director of the Foreign Language Center at JSU. Since 1993, Mrs. Velásquez has been a Spanish instructor at JSU.

Mrs. Velásquez is married, has three daughters and four granddaughters. She draws from her experience and the knowledge she has gained as an immigrant to contribute to the well-being of the Hispanic community in Mississippi. Mrs. Velásquez strongly argues that “education is the most effective tool by which to climb the social, economic, and political ladder, especially for us immigrants.” On October 23, 2005, Mrs. Velásquez was presented with the “Woman of the Year” award by the Minority and Small Business Development Division for her dedication to the community.

Luis Espinoza

Luis Espinoza is Editor of the Spanish language newspaper, La Noticia, which circulates in southeastern U.S. He is also the Central Mississippi Community Organizer for the MS Immigrant Rights Alliance.

Elsa Baughman

Elsa Baughman, a co-founder of the Mississippi Hispanic Association, is currently the secretary of MHA. She was born in Venezuela and has been living in the United States since 1976. She received a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.A. in journalism from the University of Zulia in Venezuela. Currently she works as Spanish editor of Mississippi Catholic, the newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson where she began working in 1996. She also is a freelance interpreter and translator for several national companies. She is married and has two daughters.

Victoria Scantlebury

Victoria has been a member of the Mississippi Hispanic Association since its beginning and has served in various positions including President, Children Activities Coordinator for the Festival Latino, and dancer and choreographer of the Association’s folkloric group. She was born in the Republic of Panama and has been living in Mississippi for over 20 years.  She is a Spanish teacher in Jackson Public Schools and an Adjunct Professor of Spanish at Jackson State University.  Victoria graduated from Jackson State University in 1997 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Foreign Languages and in 2001 with an MS.Ed in Secondary Education with a concentration in Spanish.  She also has an ESL Certification from Mississippi College.