The Latino Advisory Council (LAC) of American Bible Society has announced the election of its first chairwoman, seasoned publishing executive, Tessie DeVore.
Only a few years after its founding in 1816, American Bible Society began its historic ministry to the Spanish-speaking community. To continue this great legacy, the LAC was formed in 2002 in order to maintain an active dialogue with the Spanish-speaking community and as a way to advise the American Bible Society in the development of relevant Latino programs, projects and resources. Today, they review existing and explore new programs, projects and Scripture solutions that meet the needs of the diverse Latino community in the US.
DeVore, a Cuban-Puerto Rican, is a 25-year veteran in both the English and Spanish Christian publishing world. She is the executive vice president of Charisma House, the book group of Charisma Media. In that role she is responsible for spearheading the growth and development of all book imprints. Under her leadership, Charisma House has published 11 New York Times best-sellers.
Completely bilingual and fluent in English and Spanish, DeVore was named in 2002 as one of the Top 100 Hispanic Journalists and Media Personalities in the U.S. by PR Newswire. In 2005, Charisma magazine recognized her as one of “30 Emerging Voices Who Will Lead the Church in the Next Decade.” DeVore was the first female president of the Spanish Evangelical Publishers Association (SEPA). She is also the first Latino woman to serve on the Oral Roberts University Board of Trustees.
The Rev. Emilio Reyes, executive director of Multi Language Ministries for American Bible Society notes, “Recent studies show that only 8 percent of the Latino community engaging with the Bible regularly. ABS has an unprecedented opportunity to impact this growing segment of the population and are very pleased that Tessie will help lead this charge as chairwoman of the Latino Advisory Council. After all, today’s Spanish-speaking immigrants are tomorrow’s Bible-reading Americans!”
DeVore adds: “I believe the future of the United States will be directly impacted by the Latino Community. We have already seen this and the influence is only going to increase. The Latino Advisory Council is critical to the mission and vision of the American Bible Society, as Spanish-speaking people are a key component of ABS fulfilling and sustaining its mission and goals.”
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