Whitney-Jackson recognized at Latino conference

From left: Aura Whitney-Jackson, UNMC’s liason to south Omaha, with friend Maria Valentin at the Seventh Annual Heartland Latino Leadership Conference. Whitney-Jackson and Valentin were the founders of the conference.

Aura Whitney-Jackson’s status in south Omaha is undeniable.

Whitney-Jackson, community liaison to south Omaha for UNMC, is a giant in her service to the community.

That she received the Lifetime Acheivement Award at the Seventh Annual Heartland Latino Leadership Conference last month served as a reminder of her importance to the south Omaha community and her status as one of the most respected Latinos in the United States.

Eight years ago, after multiple conversations with a close-knit group of her Latina friends about the need for a broad-based program to bring Latino people together in this region to address the significant social issues facing their people, Whitney-Jackson, along with her friend, Maria Valentin, came up with an idea for a conference. Whitney-Jackson called her friends and asked if each would be willing to commit to this vision for a regional conference. They each told her, “Count me in.”

Then she asked each of them to give her the name and contact information for as many Latino people as they knew. These names became the original database of contacts for what became the first Heartland Latino Leadership Conference.
The Seventh Annual Heartland Latino Leadership Conference was held Nov. 16-17 at the Qwest Center and verified that this conference is now one of the most significant annual gatherings of Latino people in the country.

Whitney-Jackson stops for a picture with ABC “Primetime” co-anchor John Quinones at the Seventh Annual Heartland Latino Leadership Conference.

The 2006 HLLC featured keynote addresses by Raul Yzaguirre, founder and president for 30 years of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States; Julio Melara, an entrepreneur, publisher and top-selling author — Selling Power magazine named him one of America’s Top Motivational Speakers; Sandra Guzman, Emmy award winning writer and television producer who is currently Editor in Chief of Latina magazine; and John Quinones, co-anchor of ABC television’s “Primetime” and six-time Emmy award winner.

There has never been a Latino conference in this region that drew such an “A-List” of famous and historic Latino leaders and personalities.

Being honored as the founding “godmother” of The Heartland Latino Leadership Conference may now be a crown jewel in the Whitney-Jackson’s legacy of service in Nebraska, but a review of her history shows that in many ways, it was just another example of her being one who sees a need and takes the initiative to fill it.

Whitney-Jackson was instrumental in the creation of the South Omaha Care Council and remains the heart and soul of the organization. In particular, she has always been motivated to take on health and educational issues facing the less fortunate in south Omaha. She was a major part in the creation of an astonishing list of highly-acclaimed programs and events affecting Latinos. Some of these programs include:

• The Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI);
  
• The Spanish Language Diabetes Educational Program;
  
• “Por El Amor a La Familia” (For the Love of Family), the first Spanish language court-sanctioned parenting program that enabled dozens of Latino parents who lost custody of their children to reunite their families;
  
• “Every Shot is Through the Heart,” an anti-violence video that is now acclaimed nationwide for its education of youth and children against violence; and
  
• The South Omaha Family Preservation Team.

Whitney-Jackson’s received the 2002 Joyce Harrison Memorial Award for her outstanding leadership in improving racial/ethnic minority health services in Nebraska. In both 2004 and 2005, she received South Omaha Neighborhood Association Project of Merit Award for developing projects that most impacted Latino families.

And yet, for all the praise and leadership history, she is above all, a living example of personal self-determination. A native of Panama, Whitney-Jackson came to the United States with no English skills, almost no money and no relatives in the country. She raised two children while developing her English, working and going to school.

She attended the University of Panama for three years before immigrating to America. She received her bachelor’s degree in social welfare and a minor in political science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1972 and a master’s degree in social work from UNO in 1978.

“I was director of environmental services at UNMC for 17 years,” Whitney-Jackson said. “As you can imagine, I managed a very diverse group of employees. As a person of color, I have always been motivated to look into health and education issues for those who are less fortunate.

“While community work is part of my job description at UNMC, in reality my community work extends far beyond my job. It’s a part of me and my personal life and that’s why I believe I am successful. People trust me because I have been involved in this community a long time. They know I am personally invested in this community.”