Moises V. "Moe" Vela Jr. is of counsel in the Public Policy & Regulation Group. His focus is on client development, public policy, government relations, strategic communications, regulatory affairs and Hispanic and LGBT outreach. He uses his extensive government, business and community-based network and expertise to enhance the service-offerings to the firm's clients.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Vela served in the Obama Administration as Director of Management & Administration in the Office of Vice President Biden. Vela's main duty in this role was to manage the daily operations of the Vice President's office. He was the first Hispanic in the U.S. to serve twice in the White House in a senior executive role. During the Clinton Administration, Vela served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Advisor on Latino Affairs in the Office of Vice President Al Gore.
Upon leaving the Clinton White House, Mr. Vela was instrumental in the launch of a cyberspace company. After a stint in cyberspace, Mr. Vela began his own consulting company, Diverse Directions, LLC, where he provided his clients guidance on the development of comprehensive Latino community outreach and marketing strategies, as well as, government, public and media relations strategies. He has developed and produced a variety of successful Spanish-language, bilingual and multicultural advertising and marketing campaigns on radio and television for members of the automotive industry, financial sector, non-profit community and a plethora of other clients.
A member of the State Bar of Texas, Mr. Vela created El Centro Legal Latino in Birmingham, AL, where he concentrated on educating and informing Latinos in the Southeast U.S. of their legal rights, advocating on their behalf and assisting them in obtaining fair and quality legal representation when appropriate. While in Alabama, he was the founder and first chairman of the Alabama Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he used his business acumen to create new Latino entrepreneurs and to help grow Latino-owned businesses throughout the state.
Mr. Vela was then recruited to be the executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a nonprofit trade association whose mission it is to increase Hispanic homeownership by empowering any and all professionals in the home buying process who serve or want to serve the Hispanic consumer. NAHREP boasts over 12,000 members in 48 states and 35 affiliate chapters.
Following that role, Mr. Vela was senior vice president of Multicultural Strategies at United Dominion Realty Trust where he developed the multifamily industry’s first comprehensive multicultural strategy to attract, retain and properly service tenants of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Subsequently, he became president of his own consulting business, Comunidades LLC.
Mr. Vela began his career as a staff member in the Texas House of Representatives as the legislative director and committee clerk for State Rep. Rene Oliveira. He went on to serve as a committee clerk for then-Senator Eddie Bernice Johnson's Interim Committee on Minority and Women Business Ownership Opportunities.
Prior to returning to serve in the Obama-Biden Administration, Mr. Vela was a partner and co-founder of The Comunidades Group, a Denver-based cutting-edge business that acquires, develops and operates multifamily and mixed-use real estate in Hispanic submarkets across the nation and “culturally customizes” them to better meet the needs of Latino renters and consumers across the nation.