60 Empire Drive, Ste 203
Saint Paul MN 55103

T: 651 296.9587
1 888 234.1291
F: 651 297.1297

clac.desk@state.mn.us

©2010 The Chicano Latino Affairs Council. All rights reserved.

Hector Garcia, Executive Director.

In his role as executive director, Hector is tasked with implementing the agency vision as proposed by the CLAC Board of Directors. Garcia leads CLAC's organization structure in coordinating strategic partnerships with outside agencies. He monitors CLAC's financial performance and aligns agency outputs with annual action planning.

Additionally, Garcia also engages the Minnesota governor and Legislature on Latino-specific issue and policy recommendations.

Garcia arrived in Minnesota in 1973 and brings to the agency over thirty years of experience. He has served as advisor to state legislators and local public officials including Governors Arne Carlson, Jesse Ventura and Tim Pawlenty and former state commissioners Peter Gillette and Matt Kramer.

More recently, Garcia served as President of MEX‐US Global, a consulting firm on international investment, market growth & trade and intercultural relations. He served as Vice President of International and Domestic Emerging Markets at Wells Fargo Bank N.A., co-founder and executive director of Minnesotans for NAFTA, and Executive Director of the Minnesota/Dakotas District of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ).

Garcia co‐founded with INS District Director Aljets and community leaders in 2000 the Twin Cities Immigrant Community Roundtable. Members of the immigrant/refugee communities, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and ICE, education, legal, church, corporate, nonprofit, philanthropic and other organizations have participated in the Roundtable and its Bridges Network. The Roundtable has developed significant improvements in communications among local, state, federal government, legal, judicial, educational, corporate, philanthropic, and community organizations and has pioneered collaboratives of local and national significance, including the guide for new immigrants to the Twin Cities, which became the model for the national Guide in multiple languages. Most recently, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security congratulated Minnesota for the Roundtable, which has become a model for communication between her department and immigrant communities throughout the country.

On issues affecting Latin American immigrants and minority communities in Minnesota, Garcia has advised former Senator Durenberger as well as Saint Paul Mayors Norm Coleman and Randy Kelly. He was member of the St. Paul‐Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico Sister City committee and the Minneapolis, MN—Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico Sister City committee. He initiated the development of the Sister City relationship between St. Paul, Minnesota and Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico with Mayor Latimer.

Garcia's community involvement includes: chair of the Twin Cities Public Television Community Advisory Board and member of TPT’s Board of Directors, state of Minnesota representative for The American Forum and chair of its MN Editorial Forum, co‐founder of the Alliance for Racism‐Free Communities and member of Initiatives of Change, an international peace organization formerly known as Moral Rearmament.
Garcia is a graduate of the Instituto Tecnológico de México in Mexico City with a degree in Business Administration. He studied Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, Project Management at the University of St. Thomas, and the French language in France, Canada, and Mexico. He was also the recipient of the Minneapolis Award in 1994, a member of the Twin Citian Volunteer Hall of Fame and the United Way Unsung Hero award.

Hector’s interests include reading, especially Juan Rulfo, John Steinbeck, Leo Tolstoy, economist Joseph Stiglitz, financier George Soros, and noted Minnesota reporter Thomas Friedman.

In his experience working on behalf of the Latino community in Minnesota, Hector is uniquely well positioned to understand the challenges and assets Minnesota Latinos as this community matures and develops. His dream and his vision for CLAC is for Minnesota Latinos to unite around common issues and work collaboratively to advance the common good of Latinos and all Minnesotans through public policy changes.

Hector is married to Bryana, a Minnesotan who also worked in Wells-Fargo. His son David was born in Minnesota, is a real-estate developer and lives with his family in New Orleans.

You are here » About Us » Board of Directors & Staff » Hector Garcia, Executive Director