Luis G. Gomez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico. He came to the United States as a child but has always kept his roots and has understood them. He grew up in Azusa, California, a small town about 30 minutes east of Los Angeles. He is the youngest of four children, all of whom were born in Mexico. He completed his undergraduate degrees at the University of California at Berkeley where he majored in Latin American Studies and Brazilian Portuguese Language and Literature. While at Berkeley, his interest in the immigrant community in the United States widened as he became exposed to issues that not only affected his fellow Latin Americans, but that affected him as well. He lived, studied, and worked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during which time he became fluent in Portuguese and learned to understand and adapt to a culture different from his own. He was given a grant by the Center of European Studies at U.C. Berkeley to conduct independent research in Portugal on the Brazilian immigrant community that resides in Lisbon with the purpose of exploring their cultural and linguistic adaptation from Brazil to Portugal. He is a firm and passionate advocate for immigrants' rights. He believes that the controversial issue of immigration in this country needs to be approached as something more than simple statistics and numbers. He also believes that in order for there to be comprehensive immigration reform in the United States, one must first look at this issue at a more humanistic level to reveal real stories of sacrifice and fearlessness in the face of adversity. He plans to always give back to his community and to those communities he has yet to know. Luis dedicates his career and owes the opportunities he has have been given to his mother whose strength and courage to come to this country and overcome tremendous obstacles gave him the knowledge, the drive, and the passion to help and understand others. On his free time, Luis enjoys outdoor activities like running and biking and also maintaining himself healthy by going to the gym. He enjoys being exposed to other languages and cultures and is a huge fan of the beach as well.
