John D. Trasvina
Encyclopedia
John D. Trasviña is the Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Previously, he was
president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
(MALDEF). From 1997 to 2001 he was Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices at the U.S. Department of Justice.
; he then received degrees from Harvard University
and Stanford Law School
. He has focused his work at the local and federal levels on civil rights
, voting rights, immigration policy
, worker rights and education.
After graduating from Stanford Law School, Trasviña began his career as a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco from 1983 to 1985, and then went to MALDEF in Washington D.C. from 1985 to 1987 as a legislative counsel. From there he moved to Capitol Hill
to work for Paul Simon
in 1987 first as counsel and then in 1993 as General Counsel & Staff Director for the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
.
During the Clinton Administration
he was appointed to be Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices
at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1997. He also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice.
After leaving DOJ in 2001 he was the Director of the Discrimination Research Center in Berkeley and taught at Stanford Law School. He returned to MALDEF, and took the position of President and General Counsel in November 2006.
On March 26, 2009, Trasviña was announced as President Obama
's nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 1, 2009.
, president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco. He has served on the boards of the La Raza Lawyers Association, CORO of Northern California
, the Lowell High School
Alumni Association, the League of Women Voters
and the Pacific Coast Immigration Museum, Latino Issues Forum, Campaign for College Opportunity and the Harvard Club of Southern California.
He has also been an officer with the D.C. Hispanic Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association
the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, and the D.C. Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.
He has been called one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business
magazine. In 2000, he was honored with the MALDEF Award for Excellence in the Legal Profession and the Distinguished Service Award by the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership.
Fair housing
In the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Previously, he was
president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States...
(MALDEF). From 1997 to 2001 he was Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Career
Trasviña is a native of San Francisco, where he attended Lowell High SchoolLowell High School (San Francisco)
Lowell High School is a public magnet school in San Francisco, California. The school opened in 1856 as the Union Grammar School and attained its current name in 1896. Lowell moved to its current location in the Merced Manor neighborhood in 1962....
; he then received degrees from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and 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 has focused his work at the local and federal levels on civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, voting rights, immigration policy
Immigration policy
An immigration policy is any policy of a state that deals with the transit of persons across its borders into the country, but especially those that intend to work and to remain in the country. Immigration policies can range from allowing no migration at all to allowing most types of migration,...
, worker rights and education.
After graduating from Stanford Law School, Trasviña began his career as a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco from 1983 to 1985, and then went to MALDEF in Washington D.C. from 1985 to 1987 as a legislative counsel. From there he moved to Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
to work for Paul Simon
Paul Simon (politician)
Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
in 1987 first as counsel and then in 1993 as General Counsel & Staff Director for the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution is one of seven subcommittees within the Senate Judiciary Committee. The subcomittee was best known in the 1970s as the committee of Sam Ervin, whose investigations and lobbying — together with Frank Church and the Church Commission — lead to...
.
During the Clinton Administration
Presidency of Bill Clinton
The United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term...
he was appointed to be Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices
Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices , in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, is responsible for enforcing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 , which protects US citizens and certain other individual from...
at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1997. He also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice.
After leaving DOJ in 2001 he was the Director of the Discrimination Research Center in Berkeley and taught at Stanford Law School. He returned to MALDEF, and took the position of President and General Counsel in November 2006.
On March 26, 2009, Trasviña was announced as President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing
Fair housing
In the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 1, 2009.
Community involvement
Trasviña has been a member of the San Francisco Elections CommissionSan Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
, president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco. He has served on the boards of the La Raza Lawyers Association, CORO of Northern California
Coro (non-profit organization)
Coro is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization best known for its fellowship program dedicated to teaching skills useful in leadership in public affairs to young adults....
, the Lowell High School
Lowell High School (San Francisco)
Lowell High School is a public magnet school in San Francisco, California. The school opened in 1856 as the Union Grammar School and attained its current name in 1896. Lowell moved to its current location in the Merced Manor neighborhood in 1962....
Alumni Association, the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
and the Pacific Coast Immigration Museum, Latino Issues Forum, Campaign for College Opportunity and the Harvard Club of Southern California.
He has also been an officer with the D.C. Hispanic Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association
Hispanic National Bar Association
The Hispanic National Bar Association is a non-profit, non-partisan organization representing Hispanics in the legal profession, including attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistant and paralegals, and law students in the United States and its territories.The current National President and...
the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, and the D.C. Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.
He has been called one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...
magazine. In 2000, he was honored with the MALDEF Award for Excellence in the Legal Profession and the Distinguished Service Award by the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership.
External links
- "Kanovsky, Kovar And Trasviña Sworn In As HUD Assistant Secretaries", HUD news release, May 5, 2009.
- Biography of John D. Trasviña, Assistant Secretary at HUD website (retrieved June 2, 2009).