New Head of MALDEF

LOS ANGELES, CA – John Trasviña, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), was named today as Interim President and General Counsel of the leading Latino legal organization. Trasviña fills the vacancy left by Ann Marie Tallman who stepped down last month. “For the past two decades, John has been a leader at the local and federal levels on immigration and civil rights policy. John’s leadership on immigration policy is especially important at this critical time as MALDEF continues to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform,” said Mr. Frank Quevedo, President of MALDEF Board of Directors. Prior to joining MALDEF, Trasviña was the Director of the Discrimination Research Center in Berkeley and Los Angeles and taught Immigration Law at Stanford Law School. In 1997, President Clinton appointed and the U.S. Senate confirmed, Trasviña to be Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. As Special Counsel, he headed the federal government’s only office devoted solely to immigrant workplace rights and was the highest ranking Latino attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. “Trasviña’s background in managing and leading the lawyers of the Office of Special Counsel will prove vital to MALDEF’s future as we rise to the challenges of representing the interests of 41 million Latinos regarding the many legal issues that threaten fair treatment and equal opportunity,” said U.S. Representative Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX), Chair of the Hispanic Caucus Civil Rights Task Force. for more information, see www.maldef.org

KJ