Meet the Finalists: Chattanooga's Choice

Get to know our amazing individuals and organizations as we get ready to celebrate them at our 2025 Latino Leadership Awards on September 19th!

Throughout the next couple of weeks, we'll be sharing some info on the folks and agencies our city nominated to be recognized for their contributions and positive impact, promoting Latino progress across sectors in the Scenic City!

Chattanooga's Choice: 2025 Nominees

Jaqueline Rivera Cornier

Department of Justice Partially Accredited Legal Representative

Catholic Charities at East Tennessee

Jaqueline Rivera Cornier received an MA in Human Resources from Universidad del Este in Yauco, Puerto Rico in 2010.She moved to the mainland in 2012 and started working in immigration law in 2020. She gained substantial experience in working on asylum cases and with unaccompanied minors at private law firms in the Chattanooga Area. She joined the Chattanooga office of Catholic Charities of East TN in 2022. Jacqueline’s expertise encompasses a wide range of cases, but she has become an expert in serving Cuban entrants. Her dedication to serving the immigrant community is rooted in her beliefs of equity and justice for all. 

Ensemble de México

Mexican Folklore Dance Group

Ensamble de México started as a hobby and an experiment. Back in August 2022, Ariadna Ascencio and Marcos Gómez began practicing, putting together choreographies and recalling everything they had learned from years past. After just a month of practicing, we had our first performances, and people enjoyed our shows wherever we danced.

By October of that same year, five more people joined us, and that’s how the journey of Ensamble de México as a group really started, having the goal of keeping our culture and traditions alive and passing them on to new generations.

Between 2023-2024, we performed at around 40 events across different states like Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Our biggest event recently was in Orlando, Florida, where we were selected to perform through Disney’s Imagination Campus program. It was such a great learning experience!

Right now, our group has grown to 30 students, and we know it’s only going to keep growing. Our goal is to keep sharing our culture through dance because culture is the bridge that connects people and brings joy and meaning to life.

Louie Marin-Howard

Executive and Program Director

The Pop Up Project

Louie Marin-Howard is a passionate dance artist, educator, and community leader dedicated to using the power of movement to connect, inspire, and uplift. A graduate of the University of Florida New World School of the Arts under the direction of Daniel Lewis, Louie earned his B.F.A. with High Honors in 2005 on a full scholarship. He also trained as a scholarship student at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and Jennifer Muller/The Works School.

Louie’s professional performance career includes work with companies such as Dance NOW Miami, Freddick Bratcher and Co., Sasha Soreff Dance Theater, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Paskal Rekoert/Flexicurve, Graham II, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance, where he continues to coach and teach with purpose and pride. Louie has taught regionally, nationally, and internationally, known for his dynamic, breath-driven classes that emphasize the power, speed, and passion of contemporary modern dance and the rigorous demands of today’s repertory. Locally, he has brought masterclasses to institutions including Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts, Chattanooga Dance Theater, The Baylor School, Ballet Esprit, and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre.

In 2024, Louie stepped into a new chapter of service as Executive and Program Director of The Pop-up Project—a role that reflects both his creative vision and deep commitment to community impact. Under his leadership, The Pop-up Project continues to grow as the bridge in Dance Education for Hamilton County, working to expand access to high-quality, age-appropriate dance programming. Together with an extraordinary team of teaching artists and administrators, Louie is advancing a mission rooted in JOY, equity, and connection—ensuring every student can experience the transformative power of dance.

Ready to cast your vote?

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