NHCLC Announces Girien Salazar as Deputy Director of Faith and Education Coalition

SACRAMENTO, Calif., October 31, 2016 – The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC/CONEL) has appointed Girien Salazar as Deputy Director of the Faith & Education Coalition. Mr. Salazar will assist Executive Director Dr. Andrea Ramirez in strategically advancing Faith & Education Coalition initiatives such as the Raising the Standards campaign and key partnerships. Esmeralda Sanchez, who previously held the Deputy Director position, has begun a PhD program at Rice University and will serve on the NHCLC board.

“We were excited to have Girien Salazar join our coalition staff this past August,” comments Dr. Andrea Ramirez, Executive Director of the Faith and Education Coalition – NHCLC. “Girien brings strong leadership skills and a commitment to Hispanic educational achievement.”

Mr. Salazar has played a leading role in expanding the Raising the Standards campaign programs such as Education Sunday and works closely with the Faith and Education Coalition to further equip evangelical communities in advancing education equality at a local and national level. In addition, he led the planning of the annual National Hispanic Education Summit designed to bring together key faith leaders and K-12 and higher education administrators to improve recruitment and graduation rates of Latino students held earlier this month at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Girien (pronounced “Gideon”) Salazar earned a BS in Church Ministry and an MS in Theological Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Mr. Salazar taught English while serving as a missionary in Mexico before joining the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2010. He volunteered for deployments to Eastern Europe and Africa and continues to serve the USNR today. Girien recently completed his first academic year as Associate Professor of Theology at Latin American Bible Institute. He recently moved to Houston, Texas, from San Antonio, Texas, where he served as a member of VFW post 837, board member of the Latin American Heritage Society, Community Liaison at Grace Tabernacle Church, and was a city official with the SA Parks and Recreation Board. Girien Salazar is pursuing a PhD in Leadership Studies at Dallas Baptist University.

NHCLC/CONEL education initiatives and resources are found online at www.faithandeducation.com, alongside links to Christian university and seminary partners.

NHCLC/CONEL is the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization. It serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and another 500,000 congregations spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora. For additional information, visit http://www.nhclc.org.