Contributor

John Trasvina

Dean, University of San Francisco School of Law

John Trasviña is the 18th dean of the USF School of Law. Dean Trasviña received his AB from Harvard University in 1980 and his JD from Stanford Law School in 1983.

Most recently, Dean Trasviña was the assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Dean Trasviña was appointed by President Obama in 2009, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He led more than 580 employees in 43 offices across the country to enforce the nation’s fair housing laws. Previously, he served as president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), where he oversaw six litigation and policy offices across the country, expanded services, and significantly increased fundraising efforts.

A native San Franciscan, Dean Trasviña began his career as a deputy city attorney here in 1983 before joining MALDEF in Washington, D.C., as a legislative attorney in 1985. He later worked for U.S. Sen. Paul Simon as general counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Dean Trasviña special counsel for immigration-related unfair employment practices. In that capacity, he led the only federal government office devoted solely to immigrant workplace rights and was the highest ranking Latino attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dean Trasviña previously taught immigration law at Stanford Law School and was director of the Discrimination Research Center in Berkeley. He was a member of the San Francisco Elections Commission and ABA Commission on Immigration, president of the Harvard Club of San Francisco, and a board member of the La Raza Lawyers Association, Latino Issues Forum, Campaign for College Opportunity, Lowell High School Alumni Association, and Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership.