Richard Hobbs, Esq.

A long-time champion of human, civil and immigrant rights, Richard Hobbs, Esq., possesses a deep compassion for the underserved, underrepresented and marginalized persons and communities. He began his service to the underprivileged as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan and Ecuador in the early 1970s, and has continued this service into the 21st century. From 1996 to January 2005 he served as Director of Citizenship and Immigrant Programs for Santa Clara County, taking the lead in developing what is known nationally as the “Santa Clara Model of Immigrant Integration,” which included the naturalization of 100,000 low-income immigrants.

A member of the Board of Trustees for the San José/Evergreen Community College District since 1994, Hobbs represents Area 7, which encompasses the neighborhoods comprising the San José Unified School District. He has no doubt as to his mission and duties on the District’s Board of Trustees. “As a trustee, I try to meet the human needs of all people, including low income people and people of color. I am a strong believer in the words of Justice Thurgood Marshall: Education is the great equalizer.”

Hobbs first became interested in community college education while working as an instructor in English as a Second Language classes at San José City College. He directly observed the impact that higher education had on immigrants and low-income individuals looking to further their education. “There is no higher calling than the mission of the California community college system, which provides transfer opportunities to four-year institutions, builds local economies, and educates remedial students, reentry students, and vocational students so that they can succeed from the point at which they pick up their education.”

Of community college entrance requirements, Hobbs noted, “There is no entry requirement except being 18 years of age. This is truly a system of opportunity for everyone.”

A graduate from the University of Missouri earning a B.A. in Latin American Studies, Hobbs spent his junior year studying in Madrid, Spain. He then attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico as a Lincoln-Juarez Fellow, earning an M.A. in Latin American History. Hobbs continued his postgraduate education at San José State University, earning a second master’s degree, this time in Social Sciences, and a third postgraduate degree, a Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University.

Through his career, Hobbs has worked as an ESL instructor, an immigration attorney, and a program manager at Catholic Charities, where he was responsible for a staff of 12 and for administering an annual budget of over $600,000. He has broad international experience in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and Northern Africa, and is a frequent speaker at numerous international, national and state conferences that deal with immigrant rights.

In 1996, the County of Santa Clara hired Hobbs as Director of Citizenship and Immigrant Programs, where for eight years he managed and supervised all aspects of Santa Clara County’s Citizenship and Immigrant Programs.

Hobbs predicts that one-half of the student body at Evergreen Valley College and San José City College are immigrants. “I have always been interested in educational opportunities for low income people and minority students; that’s why being a member of the Board of Trustees is the perfect fit for me.” He played a major role in drafting the District’s Hiring and Diversity Policy.

Working with the District to enhance what he considers an already outstanding curriculum, Hobbs is most concerned about establishing an airtight, high-quality transfer program, the expansion of health science programs, leadership classes for community members, and more initiatives to meet the needs of immigrant students.
In addition to his Board of Trustee duties, Hobbs also chaired the Measure G Bond election committee, which passed in November 2004. “We have put $230 million into rejuvenating San José City College, $20 million to establish a Milpitas campus and $20 million to enhance all of our allied health programs within the District.”

In January 2005, he was named the Director of the Office of Human Relations (OHR) of Santa Clara County. In that role he is in charge of a staff of 20 responsible for promoting human rights and positive inter-group relations in Santa Clara County. OHR programs under his tutelage include the Santa Clara County Dispute Resolution Programs, Immigrant Relations and Integration Services (IRIS), the Community Liaison Program, the James P. McEntee Human Relations Institute, the Network for a Hate-Free Community, the Youth Task Force, the Office of Women's Advocacy, and the Institute for Non-Violence. OHR also staffs three key commissions in Santa Clara County: the Human Relations Commission, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Domestic Violence Council.

The recipient of numerous awards due to his work on behalf of underrepresented peoples, Hobbs has been recognized by numerous professional and community organizations, including the Pro Bono Project Award from the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Civil Rights Leadership Award from the California Association of Human Relations Organizations, the Philip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Award from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center of San Francisco, and the Tequio Award from the Mexican General Consulate of San José.

A founding member of the International Network of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (http://www.escr-net.org/EngGeneral/home.asp), Hobbs is also on the national board of “Take Back Your Time” (http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday), a United States/Canada-based initiative created to challenge the epidemic of overwork and overscheduling that threatens individual and family health. He is also the executive director of the non-profit Human Agenda, which started as a study group and has evolved into an organization committed to love and loving relationships, utilizing knowledge and work for social justice to meet human needs.

In his free time, Hobbs is an accomplished world traveler, having visited 50 different countries. He has lived in Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Afghanistan, and Mexico, is fluent in Spanish and has studied numerous languages, including French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, German and Farsi. He also enjoys spending time with his children, daughter Christina and son Tony.

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