Gabriela D. Lemus
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Executive Director

Dr. Gabriela D. Lemus is the first woman to hold the position of Executive Director at the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).  She was formerly Director of Policy and Legislation at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).  Prior to her work at LULAC, Dr. Lemus was an adjunct professor of International Relations at the University of Memphis, San Diego State University, and the University of San Diego. 

While at LULAC, Dr. Lemus founded the LULAC Democracy Initiative Voter Project, a national Hispanic civic participation campaign focused on voter education, registration and get-out-the-vote.  Currently, in her work at LCLAA, Dr. Lemus advocates for Latino workers and families, with a special focus on: globalization, trade, and immigration; U.S.-Latin American relations, and ending border militarization and vigilantism among others. 

She is the founder of Latinos for a Secure Retirement (LSR) – a national campaign to fight the privatization of Social Security and has begun ground-breaking work on health care reform; as well as on climate change and job growth.  Under both the Clinton and Bush administrations, she traveled to Nicaragua and Argentina to promote civil society participation in the democratic process. 

Dr. Lemus has been an outspoken advocate for Latino issues appearing in both English and Spanish language media outlets, including: CNN, CNN en Español, NBC’s Hardball, Fox’s Neil Cavuto, Univision and NBC-Telemundo among others.  She received her doctorate in International Relations from the University of Miami in 1998.