Chief Deputy Director, Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission
Former Chair of the Latino Education Achievement Project
Former Partner, Data Trends, LLC
Former International Human Rights Lawyer, United Nations Richard Verches

Richard Verches is the Chief Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. In this position, Mr. Verches is responsible for oversight of Commission programs and program staff, as well as a wide range of administrative and financial responsibilities related to programs and overall operations.

For more than 60 years, the Commission has served to foster harmonious and equitable intergroup relations, empower communities and institutions to engage in non-violent conflict resolution, and promote an informed and inclusive multicultural LA County. The Commission countywide networks with non-profit organizations, corporate community, law enforcement, government agencies, faith communities and local cities to develop and implement important programs and initiatives to cultivate relationships of trust and dialogue between different faith communities in regional human relations consortia.

He was Co-Founder of the Latino Education Achievement Project (LEAP), which develops educational and financial literacy initiatives for immigrants. He was a Partner with Data Trends, a national research marketing, strategic planning consulting firm; and President/Chief Operating Officer of the Latin Business Association. Active in civic and community affairs, he is the former Vice Chair of the California Student Aid Commission, former President of UCLA’s Latino Alumni Association and serves on the Board of the Directors for the California Hispanic Education Fund and Hispanics in Philanthropy.

Mr. Verches held management posts with ARCO’s marine transportation company, in corporate headquarters, in retail, marketing, pipeline and refining company in Community/Media Relations, International Affairs, Crisis Communications and as spokesperson.

He worked for six years with the United Nations in Switzerland as a Legal Officer with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees dealing with international humanitarian emergencies; and with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, contributing to a General Assembly study on Children and Armed Conflict. He has taught international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law at the International Institute of Human Rights in France. He also co-coordinated a year-long twelve nation study on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia for the European Commission in 1992.

He has taught a course at UCLA on international human rights and has taught for the University of Santa Clara Law School’s summer in France. He received his BA in Spanish and JD from UCLA.