About the Director

Andres Tobar, a 31-year resident of Arlington, Virginia is a civic and political activist in Arlington. Since February 2004, he has been Executive Director of the Shirlington Employment & Education Center (SEEC), an organization that oversees the hiring of day laborers at the SEEC Office and Pavilion. He also oversees ESL and vocational classes, clothing drives and referral services that are offered to the day laborers on a crisis basis.

Before taking this post, Mr. Tobar served 5 ½ years as Executive Director and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), a Washington-based nonprofit organization. NAHP represented over 150 Latino publications throughout the U.S. with a combined circulation of over 10 million. During his tenure, he incorporated a foundation for the organization, coordinated six annual conventions, three Washington media summits and numerous meetings with the Board of Directors, in addition to annually raising $200 to $250 hundred thousand dollars annually in revenues.

For 23 years, Mr. Tobar was a federal employee in the U.S. Department of Education, administrating several programs in the Office of Postsecondary Education in Washington, DC, until his retirement in 1996. During his tenure, Mr. Tobar was an Administrator for the TRIO Programs that included Upward Bound, Talent Search and Special Services, serving minority and low-income youth to prepare for, enter and graduate from college. In the final years prior to his retirement, he administered programs in the Division of Institutional Development, which provided grants to Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and mainstream colleges and universities for academic and institutional improvement.

Mr. Tobar was born in 1945 in Edinburg, Texas. He is a first generation American with a Mexican heritage. He received a B.A. with a major in Spanish and a minor in Political Science from California State University, Fresno in 1969. He received an M.A. degree in Social Science with emphasis in education from California State University, Sacramento in 1973.

Mr. Tobar is a member of the following Boards and Community Activities:

• 2007 Fellow, LEAD Virginia, a statewide leadership program sponsored by VA Chamber of Commerce
• 2005-2007 Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, Chair
• 2005-2007 South Arlington Kiwanis, currently President
• 2006-2007 Arlington Food Assistance Center, Board Member
• 2000-2004 Shirlington Employment & Education Center, Executive Committee
• 2000-2004 Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) Steering Committee
• 1994-2003 Virginia League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) State Director, Deputy State Director & LULAC Council 4605 President. Mr. Tobar is a past LULAC National Vice President (two years 1990-1992), National Chairman of the LULAC Education Committee (two years)
• 2002-2003 Co-Chair: Immigrant Educational Rights Coalition: This coalition is challenging the Attorney General’s Opinion and legislative initiatives to deny undocumented students access to VA. state colleges.
• 2002-Fellow-Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, University of Virginia
• 2002-2003-Fellow-Leadership Arlington
• 1995-2000 Co-Chairman of the African American-Hispanic Coalition (5 yrs.): An organization in the Nauck community that sponsored activities promoting diversity for middle school students in Arlington