Hugh Vasquez is one of the country's top diversity educators and national consultants to campuses and organizations working towards creating healthy multicultural environments. Driven by a deep sense of fairness, equity, and justice, he has
emerged as one of the nation's top leaders in working to create
environments where people from all cultures are honored, respected, and
valued.
In the past 20 plus years, Vasquez has worked with hundreds of
organizations and schools who want to take on the challenges of eliminating the
social conditions that produce racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and
the like. He has assisted national organizations such as Planned
Parenthood Federation of America to establish nation-wide diversity
initiatives and he has provided training to thousands of individuals
throughout the country.
Vaquez is well-known for his role in the award-winning documentary film "The Color of Fear" and along with cast member Victor Lee Lewis, has authored a four volume curriculum, Lessons from The Color of Fear, to use in conjunction with the film. The two also lead workshops using the film.
Vasquez was also the lead facilitator in the film "Skin Deep," a
documentary on race relations with college students, and was an
advisor to "It's Elementary," a film addressing homophobia with children. More recently, Vasquez directed the video "New Bridges," which highlights
his work with high school students addressing race and gender.
Vasquez has co-authored the books No Boundaries: Unlearning Oppression and Building Multicultural Alliances and Making Allies, Making Friends: A Curriculum For Middle Schools, and is a contributing author of the book Psychotherapy with Women: Exploring Diverse Contexts and Identities
(edited by Mirkin, Suyemoto, and Okun). He has published numerous articles on strengthening cultural roots and
eliminating privileged systems.
Founder and former Director of TODOS Sherover Simms Alliance Building Institute in Oakland, CA and a partner with the Center for Diversity Leadership, Vasquez is currently the Executive Director of the San Francisco
Education Fund, a non-profit working to bring educational equity to
public schools.
Hugh has a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He serves as adjunct faculty to John F. Kennedy
University in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and has
taught courses at New College of California and California Institute of
Integral Studies.
