LOS ANGELES, CA – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund Board of Directors announced the election and re-election of members to the organization’s 15-member Board at its the Annual Meeting held Saturday, November 22, in Washington, D.C. 

New Mexico State Auditor Hector Balderas, Dallas City Councilmember Pauline Medrano and Mr. Jose “Pepe” Estrada, Director of Ally Development for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., were elected to the NALEO Educational Fund Board of Directors.  The Board also re-elected Ms. Ivelisse R. Estrada, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Community Relations for Univision Communications Inc., to a second three-year term.  Additionally, the Board’s outgoing Treasurer Mr. Peter R. Villegas, First Vice President, National Manager of External Affairs of Washington Mutual, a JP Morgan Chase company, was appointed as Special Advisor for Financial Affairs to the Board of Directors. 

These three new appointments fill vacancies on the NALEO Educational Fund’s Board of Directors by members completing their terms in office, including Mr. Guillermo Rodríguez, Jr., of CityBuild in San Francisco; Mr. Peter R. Villegas of Washington Mutual; and Maricopa County Board Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, previous Chair of the NALEO Educational Fund Board from 1999-2006. 

“With a record number of Latinos voting in the 2008 presidential election, the NALEO Educational Fund has a tremendous opportunity to raise the issues and concerns of Latinos to a national level,” said Texas State Representative Rafael Anchía, NALEO Educational Fund Board Chairman. “The future success of this nation will be determined by the increased participation and continued growth of the nation’s second largest population group.  I look forward to working with these new Board members and our entire Board of Directors in pursuing the organization’s mission of Latino empowerment.”

“The NALEO Educational Fund deeply appreciates the many contributions that Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Villegas made to the organization and the Latino community through their service on the Board,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director.  “I especially want to thank Supervisor Wilcox for her many years of leadership as Chairwoman that helped to grow the organization and establish it as the nation’s leading organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process,” he concluded. 

The Honorable Hector Balderas became New Mexico’s State Auditor in 2006, making him the youngest Latino statewide official in the country.  In his position, he provides regulatory oversight to over $60 billion dollars in governmental assets and 603 government entities.  As the state’s top “watchdog,” he spent his first year in office aggressively combating fraud and abuse throughout New Mexico.  He also expanded the size and scope of the State Auditor’s office by hiring criminal investigators, developing a fraud hotline and expanding training and outreach operations.  In 2007, he was named one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business magazine.  Prior to his election as State Auditor, he previously served in the New Mexico House of Representatives and is a graduate of the 2004 NALEO National Institute for Newly Elected Officials.

The Honorable Pauline Medrano was elected to the Dallas City Council in 2005.   In addition to her work as an elected official, she is Vice President of the Dallas Visitors and Convention Bureau.  Previously, she worked as an ESL instructor for the Dallas Independent School District’s Adult Basic Education Department.  She has also worked as the District Sales Manager for GTECH Corporation and served as a congressional aide to former U.S. Representative Martin Frost.  She holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Texas at Arlington. 

Mr. Jose “Pepe” Estrada is Director of Ally Development for the Office of Corporate Affairs at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  Mr. Estrada joined the corporation in 2004 as Director of Diversity Relations, Hispanic Markets.  Prior to Wal-Mart, he managed public relations with the Latino community for State Farm Insurance Companies.  In his current position at Wal-Mart, Mr. Estrada provides leadership for the company’s global Opportunity Pillar, Think Tank relationship management, and future trend analysis.  Born in Lima Peru, Mr. Estrada became a U.S. citizen in 2002.  He holds a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and holds a M.A. from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru.  He received a B.A. in economics from the Universidad de Lima.