He was born in Colombia and raised in Puerto Rico, where he attended high school and studied at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, in 1975, with a Major in Political Science. Silverio defends the rights of Immigrants before the federal immigration courts, in the United States and advocates for a broad humane comprehensive immigration reform that gives immigrants basic rights under the United States Constitution. In 1977 he co-founded the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area: El Pregonero, and in 1979 he co-authored the book: Latin Immigrants in the United States with Rafael Marimon Blanco. As a Resident Immigration Lawyer for the radio program: Bienvenidos A America(at Hispanic Communications Network) Silverio reaches out to a broad immigrant audience throughout the United States, and makes free legal services available to the underprivileged immigrant community.

“Sintomas Post Cáncer” Radio PSA urging Cancer Survivors to call LIVESTRONG for resources and support.

Prior to HCN, Maricela served as the Special Projects Coordinator for the Ibarra Strategy Group. In this capacity, she managed the Latino Leaders Network’s special events, website, Board of Directors and internship program. She also recently ended her term as Chair of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) Alumni Association. She acted as chief coordinator of all officers, members and activities. As Chair, she also served as the youngest member of the HACU Governing Board made up of university and corporate presidents.

Maricela obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis in Public Relations, from California State University, Fullerton. She is currently a candidate for a Master’s of Arts in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. She is originally from California and comes from a family of ten, including her twin sister Maritza, who is also a graduate of Georgetown University.

During the last twelve years, Ms. Montero has covered political, immigration, national and local community issues in Washington DC, for the most prestigious media outlets in Latin America and the US. In her native Colombia, she covered topics ranging from social and urban affairs, to politics and the country’s most pressing issues of drug trafficking and guerrilla warfare.

Ms. Montero was a reporter, and later a Washington Correspondent, for Cadena Caracol, Colombia’s leading TV and radio network. She was also a reporter and anchor for Telemundo’s local channel in Washington DC, and news director for the morning broadcast Día a Día, in its radio station Viva 900 (WILC-AM). Later she was a reporter for competitor Univision, and a contributor for several radio newscasts.

In print media, Ms. Montero has been a reporter for the Servicio Hispano of EFE News Wire Services, Washington Correspondent of El Salvador’s major daily La Prensa Gráfica; and her features, columns and reports have appeared in more than 130 newspapers across the continent.

She was recently published in the book Crónicas del secuestro (Ediciones B, Bogotá, 2007), where she presented a journalistic essay on Colombian exile by reason of kidnapping. Ms. Montero received her BA in Journalism and Social Communication from the Universidad Externado de Colombia in 1995.