Luis Nogales

Luis Nogales

About

Luis Nogales was a co-founder of MEChA both at Stanford and in the nation. He became Stanford’s first Assistant to the President for Mexican American Affairs one day after graduating from the Stanford Law School in 1969. As a student leader and member of the President’s senior staff, he was instrumental in institutionalizing the enrollment and participation of Latino students, faculty and staff at Stanford. He left Stanford when he was selected a White House Fellow; he continued his involvement with the University by serving on the visiting committees of the Law School, the Libraries, and the Haas Center for Public Service, which he chaired. Later he became the first Latino member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

Although, he was often the first Latino to hold a position, his motto has been to neither be the only, nor the last. Mr. Nogales has had a full and active career in the private sector and public service. He served as CEO of United Press International and President of Univision, among senior operating positions; in addition, he has served on the board of directors Levi Strauss & Company, The Bank of California, Lucky Stores, Golden West Broadcasters, Arbitron, K-B Home, Coors, and Kaufman & Broad, S.A. France. He also served as Senior Advisor to the Latin America Private Equity Group of Deutsche Bank working in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. On corporate boards he has been an advocate for diversity of the workforce and senior management.

While assuming leadership positions in the private sector, Mr. Nogales continued participating in public service by serving, among other activities, as a Trustee of the Ford Foundation, The Getty Trust, The Mayo Clinic Trust, and Stanford University. He also served on the board of directors of the Inter American Foundation, The Inter American Dialogue, The Pacific Council on Foreign Policy and The Mexican and American Legal Defense Fund, (MALDEF) where he served as president of the Board. He was co-founder of the Los Angeles Chicano City Commissioners Caucus when he served as City Commissioner.

He was also a founding member of the California Commission on Higher Education and was appointed by President Clinton to the Commission on Federal Capital Investment. He was founding chairman of the California Channel. In 2001, Luis Nogales and his wife, Rosita Nogales, donated $1 million to MALDEF to defend the rights of immigrants. In that same year, Mr. Nogales established a scholarship endowment at San Diego State University where he attended as an undergraduate. Currently, Mr. Nogales is founder and managing partner of Nogales Investors, a private equity investment firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York. He continues to be active in politics, social mobility reform, and corporate governance. Mr. Nogales grew up in the agricultural valleys of California, based in Calexico, working as a farm worker.]]