Gabe Vasquez

Vasquez was born on August 3, 1984, in El Paso, Texas.^[2] He was raised in the El Paso–Juárez–Las Cruces border region, spending much of his childhood in both the United States and Mexico.^[3] He grew up in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,^[4] where he spent time in his grandfather's television repair shop. His grandfather Javier Bañuelos, originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, had transitioned from farming to working as a mailman before establishing his repair business.^[3]

Vasquez later attended Montwood High School in El Paso^[2] and then enrolled at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces,^[5] where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and journalism in 2008.^[3] During college, he served as the news editor and later as editor-in-chief of The Round Up, NMSU’s student-run newspaper.^[1]

Vasquez began his career as the business editor for the Las Cruces Bulletin from 2008 to 2011.^[1] He later served as executive director of the Las Cruces Hispanic Chamber of Commerce^[4] before joining SDS Inc. as executive vice president for public relations.^[1]

From 2013 to 2015, Vasquez worked as a field representative for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, focusing on community outreach and policy initiatives in New Mexico.^[1] He subsequently held leadership roles in several nonprofit organizations,^[2] including serving as vice president of communications for First Focus on Children,^[1] director of community relations for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation,^[6] and deputy state director for the Wilderness Society. He later worked as deputy director for federal lands at the Western Conservation Foundation from 2019 to 2021.^[1]

In 2017, Vasquez was elected to the Las Cruces City Council,^[7] where he served until 2021.^[8] During his tenure, he focused on economic development, expanding parks and improving the city's infrastructure.^[1]

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress