The concept of The Conference emerged in August 2000, in a historical gathering of forty Dominican leaders at the Paterson Museum. Following five months of meetings held throughout the state, where the educational, economic, legal, social and political status of the more than 200,000 Dominicans in New Jersey were discussed, it was decided on that summer afternoon that it was necessary to address the urgent reality of Dominicans residing in this state, in a "group conversation"/ "meeting of the minds" setting. A steering committee, led by Maria Teresa Feliciano, and including Manuel Segura, Juan Jimenez, Narciso Ortiz, Samuel Bautista, and Pedro Martinez, was appointed to organize the first New Jersey State Conference on Dominican Affairs.

This effort consisted of two plenary sessions and ten workshops moderated by experts in a variety of fields. It gathered 500 leaders from throughout the state, and presented a powerhouse of philosophers, teachers, intellectuals and public personalities as panelists, speakers and participants.

Embracing the theme "Building Our National Agenda," the conference included workshops and symposia addressing education, immigration reform, community empowerment and economic development, Inter-ethnic Relations, The Role of Civic-Cultural Organizations, among other topics. The attendees included representatives from cities with large Dominican populations, such as

Newark, Paterson, Passaic, Union City, Jersey City, Perth Amboy, North Bergen, West New York, Camden, Trenton, Atlantic City, New Brunswick, and Hackensack.

The Conference marked the beginning of a unique and positive effort to provide a forum to identify and develop a state agenda designed to unite Dominican Americans behind a common goal. Faced with many challenges, conference participants undertook to build a strategy to address the many important issues that affect the Dominican-American community in New Jersey.

We left that conference feeling face to face with not only the challenges the Dominican community confronts in its journey toward empowerment, but with a deep sense of commitment and ironclad determination to design our own role in this society.

The initiatives and projects resulting from the conferences assure us we are on the right path.

The Conference, under the auspices of The Institute For Latino Studies, Research, & Development, Inc. was established as a non-partisan, non-profit entity based in New Jersey, obtaining Federal exempt status. Since its inception:

·                                            It has successfully organized four (4) conferences with the partnership of Rutgers University School of Law and corporate sponsors.

·                                            It has identified the need to continue making a state presence to ensure that our community's voice and agenda are heard and responded to at all levels of government.

·                                            It conducted, in partnership with The Dominican Studies Institute of the City College of New York, the first comprehensive demographic study of Dominicans in New Jersey.

·                                            It has proudly celebrated our accomplishments, and rejoiced by the many Dominican leaders who, through political success have expanded the pool of distinguished elected and appointed officials. At present, there are four (4) Dominican elected councilpersons, five (5) elected commissioners, and twenty-eight (28) officials appointed to various state and local boards and agencies.

·                                            In collaboration with The National Council of La Raza, it has implemented a Community Leaders Training Program, which seeks to prepare our leaders to serve the community in a more holistic manner.

·                                            It founded Acción Juvenil Latina (AJL), a youth organization with the objective to recruit, encourage and nurture Latino High School Students to attend college.

·                                            It spearheaded and curated at The Newark Public Library, New Jersey Dominicans: A Community on the Move, the first Dominican history exhibit in the state of New Jersey.

·                                            It birthed The Dominican American Council, the statewide political education and participation mechanism of New Jersey Dominicans.

·                                            In collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, it implements Tú Cuentas!, a naturalization and voter education project.

CODA functions year-round through five (5) workshops:

1.                    The Political Collaboration Project - A working committee to bring together representatives of the major Dominican Political parties to work on agreed upon areas of collaboration in support of New Jersey Dominicans' efforts on political representation.

2.                    Education Professionals - Latino teachers explore the causes and outline solutions to the high drop out rate of Latino students.  Three areas of concern are addressed: Parental Involvement, Leadership Programs, and Advanced Degrees for teachers.

3.                    Health Professionals and The Community - Health professionals representing over 30 medical organizations in the tri-state area conduct orientation courses and workshops in degree accreditation and community involvement. Health Fairs providing medical services to individuals, who would otherwise have difficulty obtaining these services, are held in targeted cities.

4.                    A Women's Initiative to address women's unique empowerment needs and contributions. Such needs and contributions are addressed through personal and professional development follow up seminars.

5.                    Action Juvenil Latina (AJL) – A youth organization to channel and harvest the developing leadership abilities of college and high school students.

As we plan the fifth conference, we look with satisfaction at what we have accomplished over the past four years and with a sense of mission at what is yet to be accomplished.