At first, NAHJ operated out of Los Angeles, but for three reasons, it became apparent that a different venue was required. First, NAHJ needed to acquire a separate identity from CNNMA. Second, California Latinos were and are majority Mexican-American, and that did not accurately reflect the diversity of the Hispanic community. And finally, NAHJ had to participate with other industry groups in common areas of interest. In 1985, NAHJ established its headquarters in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C.

What originally started with 120 members burgeoned to 600 by the second year. Today, there are more than 3,600 members nationwide.

One of the ongoing traditions that has been so helpful to NAHJ students is the NAHJ scholarship program. Each year, NAHJ provides scholarships to graduate and undergraduate students who plan to work in English and/or Spanish-language journalism on every platform imaginable. Since the program began in 1988, NAHJ has given nearly 2 million in scholarships.

Additionally, NAHJ founded palabra, a multimedia platform that has published 210 original stories including several investigations in 2019. The platform has brought together over 185 NAHJ member writers, editors and photojournalists since its creation, reaching a potential 16 million readers per story by syndication.

Today, NAHJ is an organization with deep regional roots and strong national presence. An active network has been created linking Hispanic journalists regionally and across the country. Programs and activities developed by the association are widely recognized as ground-breaking and tremendously effective for our college students. Most importantly, NAHJ is still growing, both in memberships and activities. NAHJ policies and projects are geared to foster the interest of Hispanic students in journalism.