Grand Canyon Times

Pima Community College is re-initiating the Annual Raquel Rubio Goldsmith Lecture in-person this fall with a nationally prominent keynote speaker — Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and NALEO Educational Fund. The lecture is at 6 p.m., Oct. 13. It will be preceded by a reception at 5 p.m.

What: 2022 Raquel Rubio Goldsmith Lecture on Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Studies, Featuring Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and NALEO Educational Fund

Arturo Vargas

When: Thursday, October 13, 6 p.m. (5 p.m. reception)

Where: Amethyst Room, Downtown Campus, Pima Community College, 1255 N. Stone Ave.

Cost: Free. Registration link to come.

Media Information: Media are welcome to cover the event. Or, if you would like to advance the event, Arturo Vargas will be available by phone for interviews. Contact Vargas at AVargas@naleo.org to arrange an interview.

A subject-matter expert on issues such as Latino electoral participation, voting rights, and the census, Vargas has been featured in both English and Spanish across many prominent news outlets — including NPR, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, to name a few. During this lecture, he will discuss “Latino Voters and the Volatile Midterms.”

Vargas' visit will offer a timely presentation and conversation of great relevance to our college as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and to the general Tucson community — in which Hispanics are now the largest ethno-racial group. As usual, the event is free and open to the public.

Vargas also will address a luncheon fundraiser for the EGTS/Fundación México-Mexican American Studies endowment scholarship on Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at Brother John’s BBQ, 1801 N. Stone Ave. The title of his address is “The 2020 Census and Latinos: Successful Failure.” More information and registration link to come.

Please register for both the Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 events at the link below:

tinyurl.com/2022-RRG-Lecture-Luncheon

Arturo Vargas Bio: Arturo Vargas is the Chief Executive Officer of NALEO Educational Fund, the nation’s leading non-partisan, non-profit organization that facilitates the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. He also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NALEO, a national membership organization of Latino policymakers and their supporters. He has held these positions since 1994.

Prior to joining NALEO and NALEO Educational Fund, Vargas held various positions at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), including Vice President for Community Education and Public Policy. Before joining MALDEF, he was the Senior Education Policy Analyst at the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C.

Vargas is a nationally recognized expert in Latino demographic trends, electoral participation, voting rights, the census, and redistricting.

He holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in history and Spanish — both from Stanford University.

Original source can be found here.