Tomás León with participants at an educational seminar about marketing to Hispanics at the Marriott University Park on Wednesday.

A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star

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In his new role as president of Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Tomás León is worried about small business, big plans and many things in between.

León, who officially started his new job this month, wants to keep current members while bringing new members on board. He wants to offer more services to members who need help with the basics like finance and marketing.

But with Hispanics as the nation's largest ethnic minority group at more than 40 million and Arizona's ongoing population boom, the chamber should try to position itself as a state- and nationally recognized bilingual resource with expertise on marketing to Hispanic consumers. In Tucson, that means being more involved in local economic development.

"We need to be a leader at the discussion table, not an afterthought," León said.

Pulling that chair forward may be somewhat new for León, who served more than five years as executive director of Youth On Their Own, an assistance program for 8- to 22-year-olds who are homeless and near-homeless.

Although the focus of that organization differs greatly from the Chamber, León is qualified for the job, said Rudy Carrillo, president of Youth on Their Own's board of directors and vice president of sales and marketing for Meritage Homes.

"I think what Youth on Their Own allowed Tomás to do was networking and connecting with the community. After all, who doesn't want to listen to somebody who has something to say about helping the youth of this community?" Carrillo said. "He's created some very good connections and contacts."

León also has a knack for remaining gentlemanly even in difficult situations, said Marian Conrad LaLonde, a Youth On Their Own Board member and UA law student. LaLonde and León repeatedly went to the state Legislature to advocate for a proposal that would allow minors who live on their own to seek legal emancipation. It was signed into law last year.

Questioning from some legislators was intense.

"It was a very contentious process. The bill was sort of marked as an abortion bill and 'This is going to give parents a way to throw away their children.' " LaLonde said. "He really had to stick to his guns and continue to advocate for it."

León has a lot of hard work ahead of him because the chamber was without a president for about five months, said Mónica Conteras, board chair. León replaces Fred Orozco, who left the chamber after more than four years as president to take a job with VoiceTrak, a research firm, Contreras said.

The chamber has about 600 members with a 2005 budget of about $300,000.

Many chamber members are small businesses with limited resources. León said he wants to expand both live and Web-based seminars that offer basic advice on how to access capital, finance and accounting, marketing and access to health care.

León is working with El Rio Community Health Centers, to provide health care to chamber members.

León is excited about his new role. Some of his enthusiasm comes from his experiences in his previous job, where he worked with young people who could not rely on their parents for support.

"It humbles you. You look at your life and say, what do I have to complain about?," he said.

SEE hispanic / D5