WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Each year Americans celebrate the four weeks between September 15 and October 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a great time to recognize the many contributions of Hispanic and Latino American landscape architects to U.S. society, says K. Richard Zweifel, FASLA, president of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

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“Landscape architects of Hispanic origin are drawn to the landscape architecture profession because of their affinity for the environment, science and art,” says Zweifel. “Aspiring Latino landscape architecture students are growing in ranks among graduates, and all of them want to transform their communities through sustainable design.”

This year, ASLA held its third annual Diversity Summit. Here are some landscape architects at the forefront of the profession both in and outside the profession:

1. Roberto Rovira, ASLA. Rovira is the principal of Studio Roberto Rovira Inc. in Miami and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental and Urban Design at Florida International University. He has been lead designer in national and international projects in the United States, Latin America and the Middle East, and his work ranges from installations to urban projects.
2. Melissa Henao-Robledo, ASLA. Henao-Robledo works as a business development representative for outdoor furniture company Landscape Forms, serving the Austin, Texas, area. Henao-Robledo has spent the last several years promoting the landscape architecture profession to minorities in Austin through the Latinos in Architecture and DesignVoice committees of the American Institute of Architects.
3. Bianca Paz Ribadenieira, ASLA. Paz Ribadenieira is a landscape designer for the parks and recreation department of St. Paul, Minnesota. She had previously spent six years in international design practice, including in Ecuador and Spain.
4. Diana Fernandez, Associate ASLA. Fernandez is a landscape architect with Sasaki Associates in Boston. Fernandez has been recognized many times for exceptional leadership, and has received four ASLA student awards, including a 2011 ASLA Student Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning Category and a 2013 ASLA Student Award of Excellence in the Communications Category.
5. Carolina Carvajal, ASLA. Carvajal, a native of Colombia, joined Carol R. Johnson Associates Landscape Architects in 2011. She has been a key project team member on projects in the United States and abroad, and has developed particular expertise in community outreach and engagement.
6. Jose M. Alvarez, Associate ASLA. Alvarez is a landscape designer with EDSA Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He has developed a unique understanding of tropical and subtropical landscapes in areas including South Florida, the Caribbean and South America. He has been recognized with awards of merit in 2011 and 2012 by the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

ASLA’s Spanish-language materials include an introduction to the profession and Society on the ASLA website and fact sheet.

Images of the listed landscape architects are available for journalists. Please contact Karen Grajales at [email protected].

About ASLA
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use “ASLA” after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning and design of our built and natural environments; the Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education and fellowship.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and DALLAS, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — PayNearMe, a financial services technology company, has partnered with 7-Eleven, Inc. to introduce the PayNearMe Bill Pay app, enabling U.S. consumers to pay over 17,000 national and local billers with cash using a convenient barcode scan at participating 7-Eleven stores. The domestic bill payment service is the first in a line of affordable financial services that the company plans to offer cash-preferring U.S. consumers and extends the reach of PayNearMe’s existing cash merchant processing offering for businesses.

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The PayNearMe Bill Pay app serves as a full-service bill payment center, allowing cash users to keep track of payment history, set reminders, and securely pay their bills in under 60 seconds with one trip to their local 7-Eleven store. Most of 7-Eleven’s nearly 8,000 U.S. stores are open 24/7, allowing users with even the tightest schedules to easily and conveniently stay on top of their bills.

The wide range of billers that are payable include cable companies, utilities providers and insurance companies, as well as PayNearMe’s existing merchants such as Greyhound bus, and Indego, the city of Philadelphia’s bike share program. 

According to the FDIC, 28 percent of U.S. households have limited or no access to bank accounts. The financially underserved and others who simply prefer to use cash can use this app to pay for bills and services without missing work for trips to a payment office, standing in long lines, and/or filling out complicated forms for money orders.

“This PayNearMe Bill Pay app is just the beginning,” said Danny Shader, PayNearMe’s founder and CEO. “Cash users are largely neglected in today’s bank-based digital economy. By building a suite of easy-to-use financial services that are also easy for retailers to provide to their customers, we will make it possible for everyone to benefit from the convenience of digital transactions.”  

With money transmitter licenses already secured in all 48 states where they are required, PayNearMe expects to add national and regional retailers to its payment location network in the coming months. Other financial services are expected to follow.

PayNearMe Bill Pay for Retailers
For retailers, the PayNearMe Bill Pay app offers a new way to provide additional value to customers, increase in-store traffic and attract new customers. The app’s cloud-based technology gives retailers the ability to implement PayNearMe with minimal change to their existing systems.

7-Eleven is the first retailer to capitalize on PayNearMe’s technology by partnering with PayNearMe to offer a co-branded app. Called 7-Eleven Bill Pay Operated by PayNearMe, the app features the same 17,000 national and regional billers as PayNearMe Bill Pay, but is marketed exclusively by 7-Eleven to its customers. 

“7-Eleven Bill Pay app builds on 7-Eleven’s portfolio of products and services that are affordable and convenient for financially underserved customers.” said Raja Doddala, 7-Eleven’s vice president of innovation and omnichannel strategy. “This app is one in a series of innovations that will take 7-Eleven stores from being convenience stores to ‘convenient’ stores.”

Download the Apps
Both the PayNearMe Bill Pay and 7-Eleven Bill Pay Operated by PayNearMe apps are available to download for free in the Google Play store or iTunes App Store. Consumers can begin paying bills in three easy steps:

1. Create an account and add a bill. A barcode will be generated on the smartphone for each biller.
2. At the store, show the barcode to the 7-Eleven cashier and tell them the amount you wish to pay.
3. Provide the cash for your payment and get a receipt as proof of payment.

A convenience fee applies, depending upon the biller and the size of the payment, but most of the time, it is approximately $1.99 per payment.

Most payments are posted to the account within 4 business days, though many billers post payments the next business day.

“There is a lot of buzz around the potential of digital payments, but you can’t push cash into a smartphone or a computer,” said Shader. “We are digitizing cash transactions to make it easier for consumers to pay, for billers to accept and for retail partners like 7-Eleven to process.”

For more information about PayNearMe, visit: www.paynearme.com.

Additional Resources
To access PayNearMe videos and images, visit: www.paynearme.com/news.

About PayNearMe
PayNearMe is the first technology company to offer consumers an electronic way to pay with cash using their mobile device. The PayNearMe Bill Pay app, available in the Google Play store and iTunes App Store, enables consumers to pay for cable and phone bills, insurance, utilities, rent, loans, and much more with cash. PayNearMe has been helping government agencies and businesses accept cash payments remotely since 2009. The company’s merchants now include Greyhound bus, California Department of Child Support Services and the city of Philadelphia’s bike share program Indego, among others. Consumers can pay bills on their own schedule, in their own neighborhood, in less than one minute at nearly 17,000 retail locations in PayNearMe’s nationwide network, which includes 7-Eleven and Family Dollar stores. For more information, visit www.PayNearMe.com. 

About 7-Eleven, Inc.
7‑Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7‑Eleven operates, franchises or licenses some 10,500 7‑Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, there are more than 56,600 7‑Eleven stores in 16 countries. 7‑Eleven has been honored by a number of companies and organizations recently. Accolades include:  #1 on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2014 Top Global Franchise list; #2 on Franchise Times Top 200 Franchise Companies for 2013; #10 spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list for 2015, and #3 in Forbes magazine’s Top 20 Franchises to Start. 7‑Eleven is No. 3 on Fast Company magazine’s 2013 list of the “World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Retail.” 7‑Eleven places among Top Veteran-Friendly Companies for 2014 by U.S. Veterans Magazine and is among GI Jobs magazine’s Top 100 Military Friendly Employers for 2014. Hispanic Magazine named 7‑Eleven among its Hispanic Corporate Top 100 Companies that provide the most opportunities to Hispanics. 7‑Eleven is franchising its stores in the U.S. and expanding through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.