H.R. No. 2196
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Arturo Vargas is celebrating his 20th anniversary as
executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected
and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and NALEO Educational Fund, and the
attainment of this milestone provides a fitting opportunity to
recognize this esteemed individual; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 1981 by Congressman Edward R. Roybal of
California, NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading
nonprofit organization that facilitates full Latino participation
in the American political process, from citizenship to public
service; along with guiding NALEO Educational Fund, Mr. Vargas
serves as the executive director of NALEO, an affiliated
nonpartisan organization that represents more than 6,000 elected
and appointed Latino officials across the nation and that provides
a forum for them to discuss issues of critical importance to the
Latino community; and
WHEREAS, Born in El Paso, Mr. Vargas holds a bachelor's
degree in history and Spanish and a master's degree in education,
both from Stanford University; before assuming the helm at NALEO
and NALEO Educational Fund, he worked for the Mexican American
Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) as vice president for
community education and public policy; during his time at MALDEF,
he also directed the group's National 1990 Census Program, an
outreach and public policy effort to promote a full count of the
Latino population; earlier in his career, he served as the senior
educational policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza
(NCLR) in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, In addition to leading two vital organizations,
Mr. Vargas currently serves as a member of the U.S. Census Bureau
National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other
Populations and as a board member for the Alliance for a Better
Community and for Zero Divide; he previously held appointments to
the 2010 Census Advisory Committee and to the 2001 and 2011 Los
Angeles City Council Redistricting Commissions; his work has earned
him numerous honors, including the Hispanic Magazine Hispanic
Achievement Award for Community Service, the National Association
for Bilingual Education President's Award, and repeated
appearances on the Latino Leaders Magazine list of the 101 most
influential Latinos; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Vargas has contributed to improving the lives of
Latinos in this country in many ways, and he may reflect with pride
on his outstanding accomplishments; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Arturo Vargas on his 20th
anniversary as executive director of NALEO and NALEO Educational
Fund and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Vargas as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Rodriguez of Bexar
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2196 was adopted by the House on May
21, 2015, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House