Charles Patrick Garcia
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Charles Patrick García (born February 28, 1961 in Washington D.C.) he is a Panamanian-American author, businessman, and Hispanic leader.
In 1997, he founded Sterling Financial Group of Companies in 1997 and the firm grew to more than fifty offices in eight countries prior to in May 2006 selling substantially all the assets of the company to Vfinance Investments Inc., where he serves as President of the Sterling Hispanic Markets Capital Group. In years 2001 and 2000, the company was named by the University of Florida Fischer School of Accounting as the number one fastest growing privately held firm in the State as well as the fastest growing minority-owned firm in Florida. In August of 2002, Hispanic Business magazine named Sterling the number one fastest growing Hispanic company in the United States and it made Inc. Magazine's “Inc 500 List” as the # 8 fastest growing privately held company in the United States. Mr. García received the “Outstanding Business Leader” award by Northwood University. In December 2004, Mr. García was selected by Hispanic magazine for the "Entrepreneur of the Year” award.
In February 2002, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans charged with developing a blueprint to close the educational gap for Hispanic children, where he Chaired the Public Awareness Committee. In June 2001 to December 2004, Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Mr. García as the only Hispanic to the seven member State Board of Education, a new government entity responsible for overseeing all education delivery systems in the state with an annual budget exceeding $15 billion. In 2005, President Bush appointed him to the United States Air Force Academy Board of Visitors which overseas all operations at the military academy. In November 2006 he was elected Board Chairman.
Mr. García was identified by Hispanic Magazine as one of the "100 most influential Hispanics in the United States," and Hispanic Today magazine featured Mr. García in a cover story "Committing to Hispanic America" and Univision television selected him for their series "Orgullo Hispano". In September 2004 Grupo Santillana published Hispanics in the USA: Making History where he was chosen as one of the 14 Hispanic role models for the nation. In May 2006, author Lionel Sosa published Think and Grow Rich: A Latino Choice (Ballatine Books) which also featured him as a role model in the business world for Latino entrepreneurs.
In 1988, a commission appointed by President Ronald Reagan selected Mr. García to serve as one of fourteen White House Fellows. During the 23-day launch of the Iraq war, he was Telemundo’s behind-the-desk military expert. After the 9/11 attacks his commentary on the threat from biological warfare was sought by the news media where he made frequent appearances discussing creative solutions to the challenges faced by the nation. He has been featured as the cover story in numerous magazines and newspaper articles, and his opinion editorials have been carried by newspapers and magazines. He has appeared on CNN's Crossfire (TV series), Paula Zahn Now, Fox News, ABC, NBC, CNN en Español, Telemundo, Univision, and talk shows hosted by Cristina Saralegui, Tavis Smiley, and Joe Scarborough.
In October 2003, Mr. Garcia authored his first book on leadership and motivation, A Message From Garcia[1] published by John Wiley & Sons, simultaneously released in English and Spanish. Jaime Escalante whose life as a calculus teacher in East LA’s Garfield High School was made into the movie Stand and Deliver wrote the foreword to the book. The book was ranked #1 business book on Amazon.com and # 6 on the Wall Street Journal Best Seller list and the New York Times reviewed it.
In 1983, Mr. García graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, where his peers elected him to serve as the Chairman of the Cadet Honor Committee and he was awarded the "Class of 1983 Honor and Ethics Trophy." And it was the joke of the Cadet Wing.
He now serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Graduates, where he is Chairman of the Finance Committee; and also served as Chair of the Strategic Communications Committee. Mr. García received a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a law degree from Columbia Law School, where he published an article in the Columbia Law Review[2] that was cited extensively by the Florida Supreme Court[3] in a landmark Fourth Amendment case.
- ^ A Message from Garcia: Yes, You Can Succeed by Charles Patrick Garcia, New York: John Wiley, 2003. ISBN 978-0-471-44893-8
- ^ Charles P. Garcia The Knock and Announce Rule: A New Approach to the Destruction of Evidence Exception, 93 Columbia Law Review 685, 685-719 (April 1993)
- ^ State v. Bamber, 630 So. 2d 1048 (Fla. 1994)