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Antonio R. Villaraigosa

Guest Speaker

    Professional affiliation

    Mayor of Los Angeles and Chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention

    Full Biography

    Antonio R. Villaraigosa is the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles. He was first sworn in as Mayor on July 1, 2005. His second term began on July 1, 2009.  He is currently President of the US Conference of Mayors. Leading the nation’s mayors, Villaraigosa has advocated for innovative public policy reforms to create jobs, improve the country’s public schools, and expand investment in America’s transportation infrastructure.  After graduating from Theodore Roosevelt High School, Villaraigosa attended UCLA, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in History. He went on to attend the People’s College of Law, a night school dedicated to public-interest law.  By the age of 25, Villaraigosa was elected President of a local union representing civil rights workers and lawyers in six states. Over the next fifteen years, Villaraigosa continued this work as a union organizer for the Service Employees International Union, United Teachers Los Angeles, and then as President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees.