Restaurant owner, activist, and entrepreneur, Hector Piña moved to Boston from the Dominican Republic in 1986. He has since opened three successful, award-winning restaurants: Merengue featuring authentic Dominican cuisine serving a clientele of movie stars, singers, and famous baseball players as well as hosting many politicians who want to reach out to this key community; Vejigantes, voted as #1 in the nation as Best Puerto Rican restaurant: and Doña Habana, located at the Hampton Inn in New Market Square and the first Latin-owned restaurant in a hotel in the state of MA. Piña’s community involvement includes serving on the advisory board of Nuestra Comunidad CDC, Project RIGHT, and Blue Hill Task Force. He has served on the advisory board of events like Jolgorio Navideño, VOTO Latino, and We Are Boston. Piña has been the recipient of many awards including: 100 Most Powerful People in Boston award from El Planeta; the Community Leadership Award by Nuestra Comunidad CDC in 2004 & 2011; 2008 Most Influential Leader Award by Boston Latino TV; One of the 100 Most Influential People Award from Get Konnected; 2014 Marshall by El Festival Puertorriqueño in Boston; 1999 Business of the Year Award by Nuestra Comunidad; 1999 Latino Professional Network, Entrepreneur of the Year; 2014 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Small Business Champion Award; and the 2017 Men’s Health Champion Award from The Dimock Center.