Gustavo Velasquez


Gustavo F. Velasquez is the Director of the California Department of Housing & Community Development. Between 2014 and 2017, Velasquez served as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Education

Velasquez was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. He received degrees from the University of Pennsylvania; B.A. in Public Administration and Political science; Master’s Degree in Government Administration. He also completed the Executive Program on Strategic Planning and Business Transformation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Career

His career has focused on advancing human and civil rights, increasing access to opportunity, creating more housing opportunities, workforce development, and financial literacy.
He began his career in public service at in Philadelphia, where he served as both the Director of Operations and Director of the Division of Families and Neighborhood Development. From there Velasquez moved to Washington, DC, to continue his professional career, including serving as Director of the District of Columbia Office of Latino Affairs. As Director, he assisted with the implementation of the DC Language Access Law and worked to increase government programs and benefits to Latinos in the Nation's capital. After leaving that post he became , where he worked to promote and uphold the comprehensive civil rights of residents, workers and visitors to the nation's capital. He later served as Executive Director of the in the District of Columbia.
On January 16, 2014, President Obama nominated Velasquez for Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 19, 2014. Velasquez served in this role until January 20, 2017.
On April 2, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Velasquez the Director of the Department of Housing & Community Development.

Community Involvement

Velasquez has served on different community associations, among them:
Velasquez has been a member of other associations on D.C., some of them are:
He was also a graduate and member of Leadership Greater Washington and member of the United States Access Board and the HUD Mortgage Review Board.