Term: 2017 to 2021
Committee Involvements
Councilor Vasquez serves on the following Policy Review Committees:
Biography
Gabriel Vasquez was born in El Paso, Texas. He is a first-generation American with roots in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Journalism and Public Relations from New Mexico State University.
Gabe has a wide range of experience working in the private and public sectors in Las Cruces and has a long history of community service and volunteerism. His professional experience includes working as the business editor of the Las Cruces Bulletin, executive director of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, as vice president of public relations for a local medical monitoring device company, and as an aide to U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich. Vasquez has also worked in Washington, D.C., as a communications director and public policy expert for a nonpartisan children’s advocacy organization.
Professional Recognition & Community Involvement
- Board Member, Policy Committee, Mesilla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
- Board Member, Las Cruces Utilities Board
- Board Member, South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA)
- Founding Member, Young Philanthropists of Southern New Mexico
- Past Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, Casa de Peregrinos Emergency Food Pantry
- Past Board Member, Downtown Las Cruces Partnership
- Past Secretary of the Board of Directors, Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces
- Past Advisory Board Member, Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico
- Organizer, For Unity Now Youth Leadership Conference
- Celebrity Waiter, El Caldito Soup Kitchen
- Secretary of the Board of Directors, Friends of the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument
- Appointed Member, Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012 Forest Planning Rule
- New Mexico Coordinator, Latino Outdoors
- Founder, Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project
Awards
- Leadership Las Cruces 2010, Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce
- 1st Place, Headline Writing, New Mexico Press Association
- 2nd Place, Headline Writing, New Mexico Press Association
- 2nd Place, Business Writing, New Mexico Press Association
- 1st and 2nd Place, Business Writing, National Newspaper Association
- Certificate in Media Relations and Public Speaking, University of Notre Dame - U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Training Program