Gaddi Vasquez

Gaddi Holguin Vasquez (born January 22, 1955) was the 8th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, in Rome, Italy. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 2006. Vasquez was sworn into office on September 7, 2006, by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and served in the position until 2009. Prior to that, he was the first person of Hispanic ancestry to head the Peace Corps.

Early life and education Born in Carrizo Springs, Texas, Vasquez is a Mexican-American and the son of migrant workers. Vasquez grew up in poverty. Vasquez's family lived in a trailer in Watsonville, California, and worked as migrant workers until Vasquez went to first grade. University of Wisconsin at Madison, James Madison University, University of La Verne, University of San Diego, California State University, Fullerton, California State University San Marcos, Walsh University, Houghton College, University of Redlands, Concordia University, Irvine and Chaminade University in Hawaii.

Orange County official Vasquez worked in the public sector for 22 years before his Peace Corps nomination, starting as a police officer for the city of Orange, California. Vasquez resigned this position in 1995 after the county's bankruptcy. The Orange County bankruptcy changed the course of his political ambitions, eventually leading Vasquez to reach out to his Republican colleagues for help in re-creating his career.

In 1988 Vasquez addressed the Republican national convention and said that Hispanics shouldn't support Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis for President just because Dukakis spoke Spanish.

Peace Corps Director

Accomplishments as Director Vasquez's major initiatives and accomplishments as Peace Corps Director include: an agreement with Mexico in 2003 to host volunteers, emphasis on recruitment of minorities and of community college graduates, upgrading Peace Corps' infrastructure, especially IT upgrades in the online application tracking process, the Volunteer Delivery System, an emphasis on safety and security of volunteers (including the creation of a Situation Room at Peace Corps Headquarters), modifying Peace Corps' "Five Year Rule" for employment, and the expansion of the Peace Corps to one of its highest levels in 30 years. Vasquez visited 60 countries during his tenure as Director, meeting with volunteers in the field to advance the agency's mission and goals of promoting world peace and friendship.

Minority recruitment Vasquez placed a high priority on recruitment of minorities. Vasquez had a personal experience when he was visiting Morocco as Peace Corps Director that brought home to him the importance of his diversity initiatives. By the end of Vasquez's tenure, 16 percent of the 7,810 volunteers were minorities — the highest percentage since the agency began collecting data on volunteer diversity. Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is seeking to determine whether the meetings complied with Hatch Act of 1939 that bars the use of federal resources—including office buildings, phones and computers—for partisan purposes. On July 25, 2007, in Senate subcommittee hearings chaired by Senator Chris Dodd, Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter disclosed that approximately fifteen Peace Corps officials including then Director Gaddi Vasquez attended one of the political briefings at Peace Corps Headquarters. Dodd concluded by saying that "The reputation of this institution suffers when that happens. We have a reputation and we have a good one over the years and to have it soiled because people want to turn it into a political operation is something that I am not going to tolerate at all and I will call for heads if there are still people there involved in this. They should know better than this, to engage in that kind of activity."

To publicize work done by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the World Food Programme to help reduce poverty and make agriculture more productive, Ambassador Vasquez accompanied journalists on media tours to Mali in December, 2006 and to Guatemala and Honduras in May, 2007. His trips aim to increase visibility for the anti-hunger efforts of the United States and the international community around the world.

Vasquez has also spoken out on hunger to groups in the United States.

In October 2008, Vasquez visited Colombia accompanied by seven Latin American journalists.

Honors and awards Outstanding Alumni Award by the American Association of Community Colleges Coro Foundation Crystal Eagle Award Marine Corps Scholarship Fund Globe and Anchor Award Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce Award for Community Leadership Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award B'nai B'rith Award for Leadership and Community Service City of Orange - Citizen of the Year 2012 City of Orange - Legacy Award - City of Orange Police Department Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - Lifetime Achievement Award - 2013 City of Orange Community Foundation - 2012 Legacy Award California Boys State - Hall of Fame - 2013 Santa Ana College Foundation - Hall of Fame Orange High School - Hall of Fame McPherson Award - American Council of Young Political Leaders Salvation Army - William Booth Award Ellis Island Medal of Honor - 2014 Hispanics in Energy - Legacy Award - 2014 Distinguished Fellow - University of California, Irvine, School of Social Ecology 2013–14 The President's Award - National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund - 2017 Constitutional Rights Foundation Award - 2015 Latino Leaders Network - Eagle Leadership Award - 2016 Salvation Army - The Others Award The Latino Coalition - 2018 Leadership Award Global Leadership Award - The Pat Brown Institute for Public Policy - 2019 Orange County Influencers Leadership Award - Institute for Community Impact - 2019 Orange County Distinguished Arts and Business Leader Award - The Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts - 2019 Orange County 500 - The Orange County Business Journal United States Hispanic Leadership Institute - National Hispanic Hero Award - 2023 City of Orange Assistance League - Community Leadership Award - 2024 Hispanics 100 - Chairman’s Leadership Award - 2024 Gonzalez Northgate Markets - Juntos Award for Community Service - 2025 Scouting America - Orange County - the Gaddi H Vasquez Leadership Award - 2025 Inducted to the Orange County Hall of Fame - 2025 Humanitarian Award - Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity - 2005