District of Columbia Office of Human Rights: Director's Biography

Gustavo F. Velasquez has been selected to serve as director of the District’s Office of Human Rights. In this capacity, Velasquez is responsible for the enforcement of the District Civil Rights Act, as amended, the Language Access Act, and several other local and federal statutes in the District of Columbia. Velasquez previously served as director of the city’s Office of Latino Affairs. He joined District government in 2003 from Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc., the leading social service provider to Latinos in Philadelphia, where he served as Director of Operations between 1999 and 2003. In this role, Velasquez managed the operations of a $12 million human services agency, and developed client data systems and program evaluation guidelines for more than 45 programs. He also served as the division director of the Family and Community Development Division, where he managed $2.3 million in government contracts and private grants in the areas of child welfare, health promotion, housing counseling, financial literacy and economic self-sufficiency.

Velasquez also has private sector and international experience. He has worked as a research associate at McGann Management Consultants, and served as the special assistant to the undersecretary of Planning, in the Mexican Department of Agriculture, and as the regional coordinator in the Office of Environmental Compliance for Coastal Zones in the Mexican Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Velasquez was appointed to the Philadelphia Empowerment Zone Community Trust Board and the Philadelphia HIV/AIDS Planning Council by Mayor Street of Philadelphia, and was a founding member of the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition and the Philadelphia Latino Taskforce for Workforce Development. He currently serves on the Board of United Planning Organization and is member of Leadership Greater Washington, the Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants, and Hispanics in Philanthropy of Greater Washington.

Velasquez received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and public administration from the Universidad Iberoamericana, and a Masters Degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He lives in Ward 1.