Office of Public Engagement Blog

Meet Raul Perea-Henze

As part of the launch of WhiteHouse.gov/Hispanic, we'll be featuring interviews with Obama Administration staff whose work impacts the Hispanic and Latino communities. This interview is with Raul Perea-Henze of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is your key responsibility?

The Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Department of Veterans Affairs leads policy, strategy and interagency partnerships for the Department.  VA is the second largest Cabinet Agency in the Federal Government with 312,000 employees responsible for delivery of health, education, disability and other benefits to 23 million Veterans and their families.

Where did you grow up? What is your educational background?

Born and raised in Mexico, I started my medical career as a clinician caring for underserved populations in developing countries.  Research, academia and global health followed after receiving a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University, School of Medicine.  Most recently, I completed several leadership courses at JFK School at Harvard University, Princeton University and INSEAD, France.

Are you a member of a notable community organization, church, or volunteer/mentorship program?   

Public service has been an intrinsic core value in my family for generations.  For the past two decades, I have served as a Board Member of several prominent non-profit and philanthropic organizations in the areas of HIV/AIDS, mental health, leadership, Hispanic affairs and human rights.

Over the years, I have also maintained affiliations with other civic organizations that advance the medical profession and global health in a variety of ways, such as the New York Academy of Medicine, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Clinton Global Initiative and the World Medical Association.

Young Leaders in Arizona Participate in “100 Roundtables” Event!

Ed. Note: Many of you have signed up to host a roundtable in your community as part of President Obama’s “100 Roundtables” Initiative. We’ve received some great feedback from folks all over the country, and had the chance to participate in several as well. If you would like to participate in the initiative, just click here. Fresh off the email machine, here’s a guest blog post from the great folks in Arizona who hosted a roundtable.

On Friday, March 25, we brought a group of young Latino adults together at the Arizona Latin@ Arts & Cultural Center in downtown Phoenix to talk about the issues most important to us and our community. 

This conversation couldn’t have come at a better time given the recent data released by the 2010 Census showing that the majority of young people under the age of 18 in Arizona are Latino.  Even though the group was small, it was professionally diverse. We had representation from various professions, including educators, small business owners, business representatives, non-profit directors, elected officials, students, activists, and even Hollywood star America Ferrera. 

During the almost 3-hour discourse, many issues were raised, including providing quality educational opportunities for Latino youth; supporting small businesses and community-based organizations to build community capacity; integrating the impact of Latinos in the United States to the broader American story; engaging young Latinos and increasing their leadership potential; and the need of a much clearer, concise message about the accomplishments this Administration has made on behalf of Latinos and other underserved communities.