Hispanic Council Meet and Greet

Description

Hispanic Council Meet & Greet

Danny Vargas

President/CEO American Latino Veterans Association (ALVA)

        Danny Vargas, Founder/Chairman/CEO of the American Latino Veterans Association (ALVA), is a U.S. Air Force veteran who has advocated for common sense solutions on issues including economic development, workforce, veterans, healthcare, immigration, transportation and more. A Brooklyn native with a tough upbringing; has led him to become a nationally recognized business, community, and board leader. His passion is helping veterans and recognizing their contributions. As a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, he was endorsed by the Washington Post as “one of the region’s more impressive first-time candidates in recent memory.”  He was also named among the “101 Most Influential Latinos” in America by Latino Leaders Magazine each year from 2020 - 2023 and among Most Influential People in D.C. by Washingtonian Magazine in 2022 and 2023.

       His community leadership roles include: Chairman Emeritus, Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, passing the authorization bill in Congress; Chairman of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Chairman of Leadership Fairfax, and many other boards. In business, he is Founder/President of VARCom Solutions, a national marketing/PR firm; Chairman of the GO Northern Virginia economic development initiative, former Chairman of the Virginia Board of Workforce Development; former Chairman of the Dulles Regional Chamber (first Latino to chair a mainstream chamber in Virginia); former executive at Sprint, France Telecom and AOL; and sits on the Loudoun Advisory Board for BCT Bank. 

Sonia Vasquez Luna

Manassas City Council Member

      Sonia Vasquez Luna was sworn in on January 3 as the first Hispanic elected to the Manassas City Council. She will serve a four-year term. A native of El Salvador, she came to the U.S. in 2001 and took English classes at night while working to support her mother and sisters. She and her then active-duty military family moved to Manassas in 2010, attracted by the City’s affordable housing. She earned an A.S. degree in Business Administration from Northern Virginia Community College, and a B.A. in Business Administration from the National Labor College. Sonia is the mother of two children attending Manassas City Public Schools. 

     She was also the first immigrant woman elected Business Manager for LIUNA Local 572, (Laborers International Union of North America), and won reelection in May 2022. She also serves as the LIUNA District Council Secretary-Treasurer; Executive Board Member on the LIUNA Latino Caucus; National Executive Board Member on the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); and Northern Virginia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO Second Vice President. Lastly, she worked as an election officer for over a decade in Fairfax County, in Prince William County, and in the City, and served on the Towing Ordinance Advisory Board. 

Career Highlights:

• Go Virginia Region 7
• Thirty-First Judicial District Community Criminal Justice Board
• Manassas City served in Towing Ordinance Advisory Board 

Council Appointments:

• Appointments Committee
• Historic Resources Board
• Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee
• Metropolitan Washington oars of Directors Alternate Member

https://www.manassasva.gov/connect/mayor_and_council/sonia_vasquez_luna.php

Thank you to our annual sponsor!

Thank you to our host location: