Charles Garcia

Charles “Charlie” Garcia is the CEO of ALPFA (the Association of Latino Professionals for America). He serves on the national boards of Junior Achievement USA and the Girl Scouts USA. Charlie founded Sterling Financial Group which was named by Inc. magazine as the #8 fastest-growing privately held company in America. Charlie served on the Board of Directors of Winn Dixie Stores, a Fortune 500 supermarket in the southeast. He is a former member of the Florida State Board of Education, and both President Barack Obama and President Bush, asked him to serve on the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy, which oversees all operations at the military academy. He was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal for his service. Charlie is a highly decorated military officer, who was chosen by Spanish language NBC/Telemundo to be the behind-the-desk military analyst during the 23-day U.S. invasion of Iraq. He has authored two best-selling leadership books: A Message from Garcia (John Wiley) and Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows (McGraw Hill). He has a J.D. from Columbia Law School where his Law Review article was cited as a must-read in three legal categories by the National Law Journal. He has a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he was awarded the Class of 1983 Honor and Ethics Trophy given to the graduate who “most personified the ideals of personal integrity.”