Dennis deLeon
Encyclopedia
Dennis deLeon was an American human rights lawyer, HIV/AIDS activist and Latino community leader. He served as New York City human rights commissioner and later became president of the Latino Commission on AIDS
.
. His parents, Jess, a schoolteacher, and Josephine Munoz deLeon, were of Mexican descent.
He was graduated Bachelor of Arts by Occidental College
in 1970 and had been student body president.
He was graduated Juris Doctor by Stanford University
in 1974 after his studies at Stanford Law School
. He had served on the Stanford Law Review
.
.
appointed deLeon senior assistant corporation counsel on the recommendation of Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr., New York City’s corporation counsel.
In 1986, David Dinkins
, the Manhattan borough president, named deLeon as his deputy borough president. When Dinkins became mayor in 1990, he appointed deLeon the city's human rights commissioner.
.
Latino Commission on AIDS
The Latino Commission on AIDS is an advocacy and service nonprofit membership organization formed in 1990 with a mission to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community in the United States of America including its territories...
.
Early Life and Education
Dennis Lawrence deLeon was born on 16 July 1948 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His parents, Jess, a schoolteacher, and Josephine Munoz deLeon, were of Mexican descent.
He was graduated Bachelor of Arts by Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in 1970 and had been student body president.
He was graduated Juris Doctor by Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1974 after his studies at Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
. He had served on the Stanford Law Review
Stanford Law Review
The Stanford Law Review is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president...
.
Career
He worked as a law clerk for a judge of the California Court of Appeals then became an associate at a private Los Ageles law firm, Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodward, Quinn & Rossi. He moved to Washington, D. C. when recruited as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice. He moved back to California to become regional counsel to California Rural Legal AssistanceCalifornia Rural Legal Assistance
California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. is a 501 non-profit legal and political advocacy group that promotes the interests of migrant laborers and the rural poor. The organization provides legal assistance in the areas of housing and eviction, public benefits, and educational access...
.
New York City
In 1982, New York City Mayor, Ed KochEd Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
appointed deLeon senior assistant corporation counsel on the recommendation of Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr., New York City’s corporation counsel.
In 1986, David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
, the Manhattan borough president, named deLeon as his deputy borough president. When Dinkins became mayor in 1990, he appointed deLeon the city's human rights commissioner.
New York Times Op-Ed
In 1993, deLeon became one of the first New York city officials to disclose publicly his HIV status when he wrote My Hopes, My Fears, My Disease published in the New York Times.President, Latino Commission on AIDS
After briefly returning to private practice, deLeon was selected as president of the Latino Commission on AIDS in September 1994 and remained in that post until a few months before his death. Under his leadership, the organization grew from a staff of two into a national organization with a staff of 45, annual budget of $5 million and working in partnership with 380 other organizations around the United States including its territories. During his time, the Latino Commission on AIDS brought into being a national Spanish-language clearinghouse for AIDS information, worked with Spanish-speaking churches to build a network of AIDS prevention programs. It also provided structures for the mobilization of gay Latinos, immigrants, women and inmates living with AIDS. In 2003, it sponsored the first National Latino AIDS Awareness DayNational Latino AIDS Awareness Day
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day takes place in the United States of America and its territories on October 15th, the last day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and aims to increase awareness of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the Hispanic/Latino...
.