Yuri Cunza
Yuri Cunza is an American social entrepreneur, media professional,[1] journalist, visual artist, business leader, and community advocate.
The chamber promotes the economic growth and development of entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 4.37 million Hispanic owned businesses in the US that contribute in excess of $700 billion to the American economy.
Yuri Cunza is co-founder of the NAHCC Foundation which was constituted in 2008 and exists to advance educational opportunities for Hispanic youth and to inspire children interest in future discoveries and technologies to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair.
Cunza's perspective on diversity issues has been influenced by living in different Latin-American countries appearing reflected in his work: 'rich in powerful messages of strong social content'.
Under the Skin a documentary he wrote, directed and produced in 2001 takes a profound look into the dynamics of racial diversity in human relations -representing accurately America's multicultural dimension.
In 2006-07 Cunza began production of "Pulso Mundial" (Worlds' Pulse) Nashville's first bilingual hour long radio program which aired Friday morning on 98.9 FM.
An accomplished writer and public speaker Cunza has appeared before thousands of corporate, institutional, educational and government audiences including, the U.S Attorney's Office, U.S Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Police Academy, FBI, Nashville Fire Department, Nashville Mayor's office and Nashville Metro Public Schools (NMPS), Meeting Planners International, Walmart/SAM's Club, McNeelly Piggot and Fox, Association of Public Accountants, Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church, The Urban League, IMF's MLK Annual Celebration, NAACP, University of Memphis, Boy Scouts Club, Tennessee State University (TSU), Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Vanderbilt University, Institute for Supply Management, and more.
Under Cunza's leadership the organization signed a Growth and Unity Inter-Chamber Agreement with the East Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and started exploring forming chapters in Murfreesboro, Franklin and Clarksville.
[7] In September 15 of 2013, Yuri Cunza was presented with the SBA (U.S Small Business Administration)'Community Leadership Award' by SBA-Tennessee District Director Walter Perry during a ceremony at Belmont University to mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Award recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges and are chosen based on their contributions to their commercial ecosystems, outstanding accomplishments, quality of service, innovation of programs, leadership and commitment to the Hispanic business community.
On March 1 of 2018, Yuri Cunza and the NAHCC joined the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in urging Congress to take immediate action to protect the DACA program.
"On behalf of approximately 2,000 Hispanic-owned business in Tennessee, we strongly urge Congress to take immediate action to provide a permanent resolution for DACA recipients," said Yuri Cunza, President & CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
