Raul Yzaguirre developed his passion for improving the lives of the disadvantaged at an early age in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.  He experienced firsthand the violence and discrimination of Mexican Americans that strengthened Yzaguirre’s resolve to work for change.  With Dr. Hector Garcia as his mentor, he learned from the dedicated physician, community organizer, and civil rights activist how to accomplish his goals.

At age fifteen Yzaguirre began his civil rights career when he organized the American G.I. Forum Juniors, an auxiliary of the American GI Forum, dedicated to addressing problems of discrimination and inequities endured by Hispanic veterans following World War II.  After graduating from high school, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps and later received his bachelor degree from George Washington University.  

In 1964 Yzaguirre founded the National Organization for Mexican American Services (NOMAS) and a funding proposal for that group served as the conceptual framework for a new organization.  Formerly a regional organization, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) needed a leader to take the issues of poverty and discrimination to the national arena.  Yzaguirre agreed in 1974 to lead NCLR and faced the challenges of funding and focusing the organization’s programs to identify and address issues concerning all disenfranchised people.

Yzaguirre built alliances across the political, corporate, and nonprofit communities and molded NCLR into the nation’s largest Hispanic constituency-based organization and the leading Hispanic think tank in Washington, D.C.  He has changed not only how Americans think about the Hispanic community, but how the members of that community think about themselves.

Many prestigious awards and honors confirm Yzaguirre’s influence within and outside of the United States.  He was the first Hispanic to receive a Rockefeller Public Service Award from Princeton University and was one of the first Hispanics to be a fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  In 1993 Yzaguirre received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor given by the government of Mexico to non-citizens.

In January 2005 Yzaguirre joined Arizona State University after serving thirty years as President and CEO of NCLR.  He currently serves on boards of United Way of America, AARP, and the Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility among others.  A frequent commentator in national media, his insight, expertise, and candor is sought out as he continues to advocate for a better world.

Raul Yzaguirre
Center for Community Development and Civil Rights
542 E. Monroe, Suite D100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
(602) 496-1020
fax:  (602) 496-1029

"Building bridges between the university and the community as catalysts for transformation"