The Victor Jones Memorial Lecture Series: Speaker Biographies

Friday, November 8, 2002

Lecture: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Reception: 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Lipman Room
8th Floor of Barrows Hall

Webcast also available.

Ruben Barrales
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs

Ruben Barrales serves as the President's liaison to state and local elected officials. Barrales is responsible for maintaining a close working partnership between the White House and the nation's governors, legislators and local officials. Barrales has served on the President's National Energy Policy Development Group and is involved in a variety of issues including Homeland Security.

Prior to joining the President's staff, Barrales was President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network- a regional civic organization of Silicon Valley business executives, government officials, and educational leaders.

Barrales directed Joint Venture's initiatives to improve the quality of education, increase workforce training, and to promote public policies of importance to Silicon Valley's technology-driven economy.

In 1998, Barrales was the California Republican Party nominee for State Controller.

In 1992, Barrales became the first Latino elected to the San Mateo County (California) Board of Supervisors. He was reelected and became President of the Board of Supervisors in 1996.

As a County Supervisor, Barrales was a leader in creating one of California's first public charter schools. Barrales was also recognized for his leadership in reducing violent crime in the city of East Palo Alto, which in 1992 was named the "homicide capital" of the United States by the FBI.

Barrales has served on various boards including the California Speaker's Commission on State and Local Government Finance. He has also served as an advisor to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and as a Director of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley.

In 1996 and 1998, Hispanic Business Magazine named Barrales one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" in the United States. In 2000, the World Economic Forum named Barrales "A Global Leader for Tomorrow."

The son of Mexican immigrants, Barrales received a joint Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Administrative Studies from the University of California, Riverside in 1984.