The U.S. Census Bureau today announced 10 new members of its National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations and has named Arturo Vargas from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund as a member of the committee.

The National Advisory Committee advises the Census Bureau on a wide range of variables that affect the cost, accuracy and implementation of the Census Bureau's programs and surveys, including the once-a-decade census. The committee, which is comprised of 32 members from multiple disciplines, advises the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race, ethnicity and sexual-orientation issues.

"The committee has helped us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing high-quality statistics about our diverse nation," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. "By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee ensures that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically oriented society."

The National Advisory Committee members, who serve at the discretion of the Census Bureau director, are chosen to serve based on their expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of "hard-to-count" populations. The new members will be seated on Aug. 1.

The NALEO Educational Fund is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. NALEO Educational Fund's mission is to integrate Latinos fully into American political society, provide professional development opportunities and technical assistance to the nation's more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials, and monitor and conduct advocacy on issues important to the Latino community. NALEO Educational Fund served on the 2010 Census Advisory Committee. In 2007, NALEO Educational Fund launched the "ya es hora" (It's Time) campaign, a comprehensive, multiyear effort to integrate Latinos into American civic life. The ya es hora network also includes the collaborative efforts of more than 400 local partners, including community and civic organizations, private businesses and government agencies. NALEO Educational Fund distributed 30,000 motivational posters and 90,000 bilingual factsheets to these partner centers, in addition to thousands of ya es hora campaign and 2010 Census promotional materials, such as T-shirts, stickers and informational literature.

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