Celebration of Latino Alumni

We are excited to share that we will host the next Celebration of Latino Alumni on September 18 – September 20, 2026!

The Celebration of Latino Alumni provides a unique chance for all HLS alumni to return to campus and deepen meaningful connections with peers. This vibrant event, fueled by dedicated volunteers, offers a rich blend of intellectual programming, captivating speakers, social gatherings, and a myriad of other engaging activities.

Stay tuned in the coming months for more details, and we hope to see you at the celebration!

Sponsorship Opportunities

Harvard Law School (HLS) invites you to sponsor Celebration of Latino Alumni (CLA) 2026, a leadership conference open to all alumni that honors Latino HLS graduates. CLA will host alumni who are leaders in law, business, finance, academia, government, non-profits, media, and the arts, among other fields, as well as current students. CLA attendees will participate in panels and keynote addresses to discuss current issues in the law and beyond.

Your tax-deductible sponsorship will proclaim your support for Latino leaders in the law, as well as for HLS, and will give sponsors visibility (in-person and online) and access to a select group of accomplished alumni and current students with diverse affiliations.

For further information, please contact:
Kelsey Brogna, Senior Associate Director of Alumni Relations Harvard Law School
kbrogna@law.harvard.edu
617.496.6565

Champions – $50,000+

• Exclusive naming opportunity for a signature event (including, but not limited to, dinner, luncheon, reception, or plenary session);
• Prominent display of sponsor’s name and logo within event marketing materials (including, but not limited to, website, printed program, event signage);
• Sponsor provided giveaways, featured at their named event;
• Acknowledgement from the podium at key events; and
• Ten complimentary CLA registrations and a reserved table at meals.

Patrons – $25,000

• Exclusive naming opportunity for a plenary session;
• Display of sponsor’s name and logo within event marketing materials (including, but not limited to, website, printed program, event signage);
• Sponsor provided giveaways, featured at their named event;
• Acknowledgement from the podium at key events; and
• Eight complimentary CLA registrations and a reserved table at meals.

Contributors – $15,000

• Exclusive naming opportunity for a concurrent session;
• Display of sponsor’s name and logo within event marketing materials (including, but not limited to, website, printed program, event signage);
• Sponsor provided giveaways, featured at their named event; and
• Four complimentary CLA registrations and a reserved table at meals.

Supporters – $10,000

• Display of sponsor’s name and logo within event marketing materials (including, but not limited to, website, printed program, event signage);
• Two complimentary CLA registrations and a reserved table at meals.

Friends – $5,000

• Display of sponsor’s name and logo within event marketing materials (including, but not limited to, website, printed program, event signage).

Christine M. Arguello ’80, Co-Chair

The Honorable Christine M. Arguello is a Colorado native and first-generation high school graduate who obtained a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated with Special Honors, was number one in her class, and was selected by the faculty as Outstanding Senior of the School of Education class of 1977. In 1977, she became the first Latina from Colorado to be admitted to Harvard University School of Law. She graduated from Harvard in 1980, where she served as Articles Editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

Judge Arguello was sworn in as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in 2008. On July 15, 2022, Judge Arguello moved to senior status. Prior to her presidential appointment to the bench, Judge Arguello’s career included partnership at two private law firms, Holland & Hart LLP and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP; government service as Chief Deputy Attorney General of Colorado and as Managing Senior Associate Counsel at the University of Colorado at Boulder; and teaching at the University of Kansas School of Law, where she was a tenured full professor. Judge Arguello is the co-author of a casebook, “Evidence: The Objection Method,” which is used in numerous law schools around the country.

In 2014, Judge Arguello implemented Law School…Yes We Can (LSYWC), a law school pipeline mentoring program in which college students who are interested in becoming lawyers are paired with mentors, provided with skill-building and exposure programming, and participate in an intensive LSAT preparation course. The end goal of LSYWC is to level the playing field and assist the students in gaining acceptance into the law school of their choice. To date, 12 students from LSYWC have graduated from law schools such as Harvard, University of Colorado, University of Denver, University of New Mexico, Seattle University, University of Wyoming, and Howard University. An additional 16 LSYWC alumni are in law school, and an additional 167 LSYWC Fellows are currently participating in LSYWC. Click here for more information on the program.

Her ”Firsts” include:

• First Colorado Latina to Graduate from Harvard University School of Law – 1980 First Latina Elected to the Colorado Springs District 11 School Board – 1987
• First Latino/a to Make Partner in One of the Big Four Law Firms in Denver – 1988 First Latino/a Chief Deputy Attorney General in Colorado – 2000
• First Latino/a Federal Judge in Colorado – 2008

Judge Arguello has received numerous honors and awards for the many glass ceilings she has shattered and for the work she has done to provide guidance and inspiration to those who wish to enter the legal profession. Those honors include being inducted into both the Colorado Latino Hall of Fame (2019) and the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (2014), George Norlin Outstanding Alumni Award, University of Colorado–Boulder (2021), Judge Wiley Daniel Lifetime Achievement Award, Center for Legal Inclusiveness (2021), Celebration Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession and Public Welfare, Harvard Law School Celebration ’65 (2018), Latina Judge of the Year, Hispanic National Bar Association (2015), and Lifetime Achievement Award, Colorado Hispanic Bar Association (2015), Latina Trailblazer, Latinas First Foundation (2013), Honoree, Women Attorneys Who Continue to “Raise the Bar”, Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation (2012), Social Justice & Human Rights Champion of Change Award, Escuela Tlatelolco (2012), Honorary Order of the Coif Award, University of Colorado School of Law (2012), “Scouting . . . Vale La Pena!” Service Award, Denver Area Boy Scout Council (2007), Qwest Diversity Trailblazer Individual of the Year, Rocky Mountain Legal Diversity Summit (2007), The Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Fiesta Colorado Hispanic Pioneer Award (2001), Colorado Women’s Bar Association’s Mary Lathrop Award (honoring women trailblazers) (2000).

Glenda E. Martinez ’90, Co-Chair

Glenda E. Martinez is Assistant General counsel of Fox Rothschild LLP. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Univision Communications Inc. and headed its Legal Department’s Los Angeles Office. Before joining Univision in 1995, Glenda was an associate at the law firm of Morrison and Foerster in Los Angeles, California.

Glenda served as a commissioner in the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission from 2006 to 2013 and held the positions of President and Vice President. She has also served on several non-profit boards. Currently, she is serving on the boards of Wildwood School, CARECEN, Upward Bound House, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, where she holds the position of Chair.

Glenda graduated from Yale University, cum laude, and earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Jacabed Rodriguez-Coss ’91, Committee Chair

Jacabed is Of Counsel with DLA Piper- Puerto Rico and DLA Piper Washington D.C., where she focuses her practice on defending white collar criminal matters, including public corruption, money laundering and fraud; conducting Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and internal corporate compliance investigations; and providing Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-money laundering compliance advice to banks and corporate clients. She also assists clients in complex commercial litigation. In addition, Jacabed collaborates with Kind and Human Rights First in the representation of Pro Bono clients in immigration cases.

Jacabed began her career as a Judicial Clerk for the Hon. Juan R. Torruella of the First Circuit. After three years with a corporate firm in San Juan, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Puerto Rico, where she handled complex drug-trafficking, money laundering, violent crime, healthcare fraud and white-collar cases, among others. Following her time as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rice and Maryland, Jacabed served as a Trial Attorney for the Capital Case Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she assisted the Attorney General’s Committee for the Review of Capital Cases and investigated and prosecuted capital cases in several districts across the nation. Jacabed ended her 24-year career as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, where she served as the Deputy Chief of the National Security and Major Crimes Unit. She handled investigations and prosecutions involving economic espionage, trade secret theft, cyber intrusions, export violations, material support to terrorist organizations, mail and wire fraud, crimes against children, extortion and kidnapping, among others.

Jacabed serves as the Secretary for the Board of Directors of the Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders, a community-based organization that provides youth with educational, athletic and community-based programs in the greater Bridgeport, CT area. Jacabed also serves as the Governor for the Puerto Rico Region and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hispanic National Bar Association.

She is a graduate of Yale University and a proud member of the Harvard Law School Class of 1991.

Virna L. Santos ’90, Co-Chair

Appointed to serve in the Fresno County Superior in March 2022, Judge Virna L. Santos, is currently presiding over misdemeanor matters, following her initial Juvenile Justice assignment. Prior to her appointment, Judge Santos worked as a Sole Practitioner.  She also served as Regional Director for Judicial Studies and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training from 2011 to 2014 and was a Senior Legal Advisor detailed to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia from 2007 to 2011. Judge Santos served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California from 1995 to 2007 and as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Gilberto Gierbolini at the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1995. She served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1990 to 1993. Judge Santos earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1990 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA in 1987.