Andres Tobar, a 46-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. His Office also enjoys a close working relationship with the Arlington Food Assistance Center, Arlington Thrive, Arlington Free Clinic and the Arlington County Department of Human Services that assist in serving the day laborers on a crisis basis.

From 1996-2001, Mr. Tobar served as Executive Director and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), a Washington DC-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-$250 hundred thousand dollars annually in revenues. During his tenure at NAHP, he worked with Kirk Whisler to publish several editions of The National Hispanic Scholarship Directory.

From 1972-1996, Mr. Tobar was a federal employee, which included working for the U.S. Department of Education, administering 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.