Uriel Iñiguez

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Spotlight on Uriel Iñiguez

Meet Uriel Iñiguez of Olympia, Wash. and member of the Class of 1997.
The Executive Director of the State of Washington Commission on Hispanic Affairs shares with us his introduction to CityU, Latino heritage and tireless efforts working for state causes.
Here’s his story.

He already embodied the American dream. A Mexican farmboy turned college graduate, United States citizen and respected employee at the Washington State Department of Corrections.

The eldest of 11 siblings, Uriel Iñiguez’s hard-earned success provided a comfortable life for his family and a chance to reflect. Instead, he answered the call to make a difference in the Latino community and pursue his next challenge in academia - a master’s degree.

“Being an ethnic minority you have to prove yourself at an extra level,” he says of his decision to earn a Public Administration degree. “I need to have that extra thing.”

City University of Seattle’s online classroom model allowed Iñiguez to work full-time while he learned from faculty who were still active professionals in their respective fields. He marveled at CityU’s approach, in which teachers shared “real life experiences, not book experiences or theories.”

After graduation, Iñiguez joined the State of Washington Commission on Hispanic Affairs. As a commissioner, he advised the governor, the legislature and state and local agencies on issues that affect the estimated 700,000 Latinos who live in Washington.

Years later, a serendipitous conversation with a colleague led him to an interim position as the commission’s Executive Director. He applied, landed the job and later, under Gov. Chris Gregoire, permanently earned the director role, which he holds currently.

“If I took this job (I knew) it had to be more than about a job,” says Iñiguez of his position, which requires him to attend events and community meetings across the state.

Iñiguez often begins his sentences with the words, “Let’s have a conversation.” He’s swapped ideas with farmworkers in Omak, concerned parents and faculty from the Everett School District and countless chambers of commerce.

Recently, he organized a monthly Spanish radio program in Eastern Washington to counsel business owners on state registration and reporting laws. Regular guests include state employees from Labor & Industries, Department of Licensing and Secretary of State offices. The Latino Business Outreach program can be heard on 91.9 FM KNDA in Granger.

Along with merchants, Iñiguez regularly speaks to Latino high school kids, encouraging a college plan and research into careers that inspire them.

“They (kids) still think that college is not for them,” says Iñiguez, who shares his family story with much emotion and gratitude toward his school teachers, athletics coaches and parents’ decision to move to the U.S.

“Education, it changed my life. Not only my life but the life of my siblings. From being peasants in Mexico to now having college degrees. Where can that happen?”