National Association of Cuban-American Educators (NACAE) includes educators from all levels, from elementary to university teaching, and all disciplines in the humanities as well as the sciences.
The National Association of Cuban-American Educators (NACAE) was established in 1990 as a non-for-profit organization with the following mission:
- Representing in the U.S.A. and Puerto Rico the interests of Cuban-American Educators at all levels (from elementary to the university) in all disciplines.
- Publicizing their academic achievements.
- Contributing to the preservation of the Cuban culture in all of its aspects.
In order to achieve its mission, NACAE communicates periodically with its members by electronic mail and thus keeps them informed of its current activities.
To that effect, NACAE publishes a web page, www.nacae.com, which is interactive as the members not only receive news and notices of future events, but also can offer suggestions, share their academic achievements, and have the ability to communicate with the membership.
NACAE organizes a monthly cycle of education programs, conferences, exhibitions, concerts, etc., with the objective of highlighting and preserving our historical roots, and promoting the ethic, artistic, and cultural values of Cuban and Cuban-Americans. With that purpose, NACAE often joins other institutions with similar goals, such as the Institute of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies of the University of Miami, and the Emilia Bernal Foundation.
NACAE grants every year the prestigious award of “Educator of the Year” to a Cuban American educator who has made important contributions to his/her field of expertise. Among the educators who have received this award are Felipe Pazos and Carmelo Mesa-Lago (economics), Leví Marrero and Luis Aguilar León (history), Manuel Viamonte and Armando Ruiz Leiro (medicine), Nicolás Quintana (architecture), Gustavo Pérez-Firmat, Gastón Fernáneez de Cárdenas, and Mariela Gutiérrez (Spanish literature), and Juan Clark and Mercedes Sandoval (sociology), and Matías Montes Huidobro (playright).
NACAE grants annually a $2,000 scholarship in honor of Dr. Gastón Fernández de la Torriente as a tribute to our past-president and long-time Executive Director. The scholarship is given to a Cuban or Cuban-American student selected in a contest competition.
