Maria Lopez De Leon is the Executive Director and a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC). Ms. De Leon has been with NALAC for almost ten years and has served as Executive Director for six years. She has been involved in all aspects of development and implementation of the organization’s programs and strategic planning.
Under Ms. De Leon’s leadership, NALAC launched the NALAC Fund for the Arts, a grant program for Latino artists and organizations, completed production of a documentary series on Latino art and culture for PBS, has directed the convening of three national arts and cultural conferences and has lead the continued development of the renowned annual Leadership Institute. She has also launched efforts to purchase a historic site to serve as NALAC’s national offices.
Ms. De Leon has over thirty years of multifaceted experience in grass roots community organizing and working with community based organizations across the country. Ms. De Leon has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, Houston Arts Alliance, City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs and the Hispanic Heritage Arts and Entertainment Award. Ms. De Leon was selected to participate in the Wallace Foundation “Leadership in Excellence and Arts Participation” (LEAP) program in 2005, and completed a peer mentorship program at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. She has completed training in Technology of Participation group facilitation methods. In 2005, Ms. De Leon received the Community and Culture award from San Anto Cultural Arts, and in 2006 she was recognized with an award from Southwest Workers Network for her work and support of community in the struggle to achieve justice.
In 1974, she co-founded and served as editor of the bilingual newspaper, El Mestizo. She worked as a Production Assistant with the Committee for the Development of Mass Communications, a media advocacy organization in El Paso, Texas. She studied Journalism at the University of Texas at El Paso and Applied Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio.