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Grand Marshall

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Lema del Festival para 1999
/ Festival's Theme for 1999

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Mapa / Map

Honorable Raúl Yzaguirre Grand Marshal 1999

Honorable Raúl Yzaguirre
President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR)

Raul Yzaguirre is one of the most widely recognized leaders in the Hispanic community. For over 35 years, he has been a key national player on behalf of Hispanic Americans. Today, as President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) - the largest constituency-based national Hispanic organization and leading Hispanic "think tank" in Washington, D.C. - he continues his lifelong mission to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

Since joining NCLR in 1974, Mr. Yzaguirre has spearheaded its emergence as the most influential and respected Hispanic organization in the country. The Baltimore Sun routinely refers to NCLR as the principal Latino advocacy group. The Alburquerque Tribune has called NCLR "the leading Hispanic think tank in the country." In its review of the influence of Latino advocates in Washington, Hispanic Business magazine concluded that NCLR is "by all accounts the most effective Hispanic organization."

Mr. Yzaguirre has been honored on many occasions for his work. In 1979, he was the first Hispanic to receive a Rockefeller Public Service Award for Outstanding Public Service from the Trustee of Princeton University. He received the Common Cause Award for Public Service in 1986. From 1989 to 1990, he served as one the first Hispanic Fellows of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1993, Mr. Yzaguirre received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor given by the government of Mexico to non-citizens. He is also the recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medallion in recognition of his contribution to civil and human rights. Mr. Yzaguirre is also the recipient of three honorary doctorates. He was first listed in Who's Who in America in 1980.

Mr. Yzaguirre is the immediate past Chairperson of the Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition of over 850 corporate, foundation, and voluntary organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors of numerous organizations, including the Enterprise Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, and the Trustees of Dwoling College. He was recently elected to the National Boards of the Salvation Army and the 4-H Club. He was the first Hispanic to serve on the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. He was Chairperson of President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, and is currently the President of the Mexican and American Solidarity Foundation. Mr. Yzaguirre also serves on the Visiting Committee for the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

In a 1992 profile, Hispanic magazine described him as being "at the center of the Hispanic leadership stage." He is a frequent commentator on Latino issues; he has appeared on NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, The Today Show, CNN, and National Public Radio and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Time, Newsweek, and The National Journal.

A lifelong community activist, Mr. Yzaguirre was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. He began his civil rights career at the age of 15 when he organized the American G.I. Forum Juniors, an auxiliary of the American G.I. Forum, and Hispanic veterans organization. After graduating from high school in 1958, Mr. Yzaguirre served four years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps. In 1964, the founded NOMAS, the National Organization for Mexican American Services. A proposal he wrote for NOMAS led to the creation of what is now NCLR. In 1968, Mr. Yzaguirre received his B.S. from George Washington University, and became a program analyst at the Migrant Division of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). In 1969, Mr. Yzaguiree founded Interstate Research Associates (IRA), the first Mexican American research association, which be built into a multimillion-dollar nonprofit consulting firm.