NALEO Educational Fund Announces Election of New Board Members

U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, Florida State Sen. Rene Garcia and City Attorney Rick Olivarez Elected to NALEO Educational Fund Board of Directors

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund announced the election and re-election of four members to the organization's 15-member board.  The board members were elected at the organization's board of directors meeting on November 1 in Los Angeles, Calif.

New board members elected to serve a three-year term on the NALEO Educational Fund Board of Directors include U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego; Florida State Sen. Rene Garcia; and Rick R. Olivarez, City Attorney for the Cities of El Monte, San Fernando and Cudahy, Calif.  Olivarez, grandson of NALEO Founder Edward R. Roybal, will fill the Roybal Family seat previously held by U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard.  The board also unanimously re-elected Mike Fernandez, Cargill Corporate Vice President, to serve a second and final three-year term on the board.

"The coming months offer our organization an extraordinary opportunity  to ensure that our community is able to fully participate in the 2014 midterm elections and to make comprehensive immigration reform a reality," stated NALEO Educational Fund Chair Pauline Medrano. "We are proud to have these talented and committed individuals join the organization's leadership and look forward to working with them and the rest of the board to assure that the policy priorities of Latinos are fully addressed."

Medrano went on to state, "We also want to extend our thanks to U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Florida State Sen. Anitere Flores and New Mexico State Auditor Hector Balderas for their respective years of service as board members. Their leadership and tireless efforts on behalf of the organization and the Latino community is greatly appreciated."

Gallego currently represents the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in Congress, where he sits on the House Armed Services Committee.  Gallego previously served in the Texas House of Representatives, a position to which he was elected at 28 years old.  While in the State Legislature, Gallego served as chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus (MALC) and was selected by Texas Monthly as one of the state's ten best legislators.

Born and raised in Hialeah, Florida, Garcia was elected to the Florida State Senate in 2010.  He currently serves as the Chairman of the Healthcare Regulation Committee among numerous other committees.  Garcia served in the Florida House of Representatives prior to his election to the State Senate.  Garcia began his political career in 1997, when he was elected to a two-year term on the Hialeah City Council at the age of 24.

Olivarez is the Managing Shareholder of the Olivarez Madruga Firm and the City Attorney for the City of El Monte, California, the City of San Fernando, California, and the City of Cudahy, California.  In the public sector, Olivarez serves as General Counsel for Central Basin Municipal Water District. He has previously served as the Assistant City Attorney for the cities of Bell Gardens and Pico Rivera and as special counsel to a number of other municipal clients.

About NALEO Educational Fund
NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading non-profit organization that facilitates the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.

Contact: Amanda Bosquez, [email protected]
(202) 546-2536 ext. 12, (361) 548-6989 (cell)

Paula Valle Castanon, [email protected]
(213) 747-7606 ext. 4414, (323) 253-6431 (cell)

SOURCE NALEO Educational Fund