Washington, D.C. – John Huerta, general counsel of the Smithsonian Institution, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). The board is the governing body for the nonprofit park watchdog organization.

“John Huerta’s passion for our park system and legal expertise will serve NPCA and our national parks well,” said NPCA President Thomas C. Kiernan.

Appointed general counsel of the Smithsonian Institution in 1995, John Huerta serves as legal advisor to the Board of Regents and to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.  Previously, Huerta was a partner in a civil litigation firm, Gronemeier, Barker & Huerta, in Pasadena, Calif.; counsel to the Western Center on Law & Poverty, Los Angeles; and Director of the Southern California Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Additionally, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice; taught law school at the University of California-Davis; served as a public defender with the Defender’s Program of San Diego; and served an Overseas Service Fellow, International Legal Center, in Lima, Peru.

A resident of Arlington, Va., Huerta is a member of the Board of Directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Institute of Washington, D.C., and as a member of NPCA’s National Council. He also served as Vice President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, been active in the California State Bar and American Bar Associations, and is a member of the Order of the Coif.  Huerta’s extensive community involvement includes serving as General Counsel to Californios for Fair Reapportionment, United Latino Artists of Los Angeles (ULALA) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.  Huerta is a former Trustee of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and was a Board Member and Officer of the National Council of La Raza. Huerta has been an active member of the American Bar Association since 1979, the International Bar Association since 1998, and the Association of Corporate Counsel since 1999. 

Huerta’s initial term on NPCA’s Board of Trustees will be for three years.

Since 1919, the nonpartisan NPCA has been the leading voice of the American people in the fight to safeguard our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come.