Awards & Recognition
★Spirit of Excellence Award, American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (2013)
★Cesar E. Chavez Legacy Award, Cesar Chavez Foundation (2013)
★Dr. Martin Luther King / Cesar Chavez Social Justice Award (2013)
★Impact Award, National Hispanic Media Coalition (2012)
★Community Corazon Award for Leadership, Univision Communications (2010)
★Hispanic Business Magazine's '100 Most Influential Hispanics' (2009)
★Champion of Justice, Western Justice Center (2014)
★Ohtli Award, National Hispanic Bar Association
★Professional Achievement Award, Mexican American Bar Foundation
Notable Facts
→President and General Counsel of MALDEF since 2009, leading national Latino civil rights organization
→Argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas (2016) on immigration issues
→Led successful legal challenge to California's Proposition 187 anti-immigrant law
→Served on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's four-person executive team (2005-2009)
→Yale Law School graduate, clerked for federal judges including Stephen Reinhardt
→Served nearly 20 years on Los Angeles County Board of Education
→Taught Civil Rights Litigation at USC Law School for 8 years as adjunct lecturer
→Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
→Initiated $50 million employment discrimination settlement with Abercrombie and Fitch