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Eric Rodriguez

Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation

Eric Rodriguez is vice president of the Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation (ORAL) at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).� Headquartered in Washington, DC, NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.� Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, NCLR reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.As vice president of ORAL, Mr. Rodriguez leads a team that oversees the institution�s legislative affairs, communications, and public policy research, analysis, and civic engagement work.� Mr. Rodriguez also manages NCLR�s issue-based public policy shop, comprising five departments, including a growing civic engagement and field campaign division.� Currently, NCLR�s issue-based public policy projects cover such issues as health, labor, civil rights, criminal justice, immigration, education, and economic policy.�Mr. Rodriguez is experienced in overseeing NCLR�s research, policy analysis, and advocacy activities on a wide range of economic and labor policy issues.� From 2007 to 2008, he served as deputy vice president of the Public Policy Department and previously directed NCLR�s Policy Analysis Center, a position he held for five years.� His background also includes work on such issues as tax policy, Social Security reform, welfare reform, workforce development, pension benefits, retirement security, and transportation policy, as well as credit, debt, housing, and financial market regulations.� He has authored, coauthored, and supervised the preparation of several dozen policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials.� He has also frequently testified at congressional hearings and has represented NCLR at research conferences, policy conferences, and symposia.� His work has been widely cited in the press, in policy, and in academic literature.Mr. Rodriguez also serves on the boards of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, the Bipartisan Policy Center's Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative, and he is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.� Prior to NCLR, Mr. Rodriguez was a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute fellow and served in U.S. Representative Nydia Vel�zquez�s (D�NY) office.� Mr. Rodriguez holds a master�s degree in public administration from American University and a bachelor�s degree in history from Siena College.�