LOS ANGELES – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) announced the election of seven new Board members, including incoming-President and Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia. The Board members were elected at the organization’s Board of Directors Meeting on June 28 in Los Angeles, following the group’s 26th Annual Conference.

Those new members elected to the NALEO Board of Directors include: Alderman Rey Colon, City of Chicago, Illinois; Councilman John Duran, City of West Hollywood, California; Mayor Pro-Tem Ron Garcia, City of Brea, California; Councilman Paul Lopez, City of Denver, Colorado; Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, New York; and Commissioner Luz Urbaez Weinberg, of Aventura, Florida. The Board of Directors unanimously elected Harris County Commissioner Sylvia R. Garcia to serve as President of the organization. Other Board officers elected are East Chicago School Board Member Fernando Treviño to serve as Vice President; Wisconsin State Representative Pedro Colon to serve as Treasurer; and New Mexico Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo to serve as Secretary.

An active member of the organization, President Garcia previously served on the NALEO Board of Directors from 1999-2004. With her election as president, she becomes the first Texan and is the second Latina in the organization’s history to assume this leadership position. As NALEO’s seventh president, she leads the organization’s constituency of over 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials.

“I am honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with the opportunity to lead this organization during an historic time,” said newly-elected NALEO President Sylvia Garcia. “I look forward to working with our members across the country to forge a stronger future for our nation and communities,” she concluded.