Posted on September 4, 2009
Hispanic Appointments to High Office Made by Obama
Arizona Republic, August 29, 2009
President Barack Obama has appointed more Hispanics to high office than any previous president, reflecting the growing political clout of the nation’s largest minority group. His 43 appointees:
| Last name | First name | Agency | Position |
| Adorno | Rolena | National Council on the Humanities | Member |
| Avalos | Edward | U.S. Department of Agriculture | Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs |
| Borras | Rafael | Department of Homeland Security | Under Secretary for Management |
| Boylan | Lorelei | Department of Labor | Wage and Hour Administrator |
| Connor | Michael | Department of the Interior | Director of Bureau of Reclamation |
| De Baca | Lou | State Department | Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of
Persons |
| Demeo | Marisa | Washington, D.C., Superior Court | Judge |
| Diaz | Miguel | State Department | Ambassador to the Vatican |
| Esquea | Jimmy | Department of Health and Human Services | Assistant Secretary for Legislation |
| Fernandez | John | Commerce Department | Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and EDA
Administrator |
| Fernandez | Alberto | State Department | Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea |
| Fernandez | Jose | State Department | Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy and
Business Affairs |
| Garcia | Juan | Department of Defense | Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs |
| Garcia | Joe | Department of Energy | Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact |
| Garza | Alexander | Department of Homeland Security | Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical
Officer |
| Gomez | Gabriella “Gaby” | Department of Education | Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Congressional Affairs |
| Marquez | Mercedes | Department of Housing and Urban Development | Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development |
| Marshall | Capricia | State Department | Chief of Protocol |
| Martinez | Kathleen “Kathy” | Department of Labor | Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy |
| Martinez | Vilma | State Department | Ambassador to Argentina |
| Mayorkas | Alejandro | Department of Homeland Security | Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services |
| Melendez de Santa Ana | Thelma | Department of Education | Assistant Secretary – Elementary & Secondary
Education |
| Mendez | Victor | Transportation Department | Administrator, Federal Highway Administration |
| Moreno | Ignacia | Department of Justice | Assistant AG for Environment and Natural Resources Division |
| Nazario | Carmen | Department of Health and Human Services | Assistant Secretary for Children and Families |
| Otero | Maria | State Department | Undersecretary, Global Affairs |
| Pascual | Carlos | State Department | Ambassador to Mexico |
| Perez | Thomas | Department of Justice | Assistant AG – Civil Rights |
| Riojas | Jose | Department of Veterans Affairs | Assistant Secretary of Operations, Security, and Preparedness |
| Rios | Rosa | Treasury Department | Treasurer |
| Salazar | Ken | Department of the Interior | Secretary |
| Sanchez | Francisco | Commerce Department | Under Secretary, International Trade |
| Sepulveda | John | Department of Veterans Affairs | Assistant Secretary for Human Resources |
| Serino | Richard | Department of Homeland Security | Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management
Agency |
| Silva | Peter | Environmental Protection Agency | Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water |
| Solis | Hilda | Department of Labor | Secretary |
| Sotomayor | Sonia | U.S. Supreme Court | Justice |
| Sutley | Nancy | Council on Environmental Quality | Chairman |
| Trasvina | John | Department of Housing and Urban Development | Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity |
| Triay | Ines | Department of Energy | Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management |
| Valencia-Weber | Gloria Mendivil | Legal Services Corporation | Board Member |
| Valenzuela | Arturo | State Department | Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere |
| Westphal | Joe | Department of Defense | Under Secretary of the Army |
