Rafael Anchia, of counsel at Haynes and Boone, LLP and Texas State Representative, will receive the 2019 Distinguished Hispanic Alumni Award from Southern Methodist University next month.
Anchia graduated cum laude from the university in 1990.
The Hispanic Alumni of SMU Board identifies Hispanic alumni whose professional and personal accomplishments have made a tangible impact on the Dallas community. The board recently met to consider candidates and unanimously approved Rep. Anchia for the honor because of his extraordinary service and achievements.
“The SMU Hispanic Alumni Board commends Rep. Anchia’s dedication to the university, where he has given a voice to the Latino community through service on numerous boards, as well as his commitment to civic duty,” the board stated. “Through his leadership and public service, Rep. Anchia is helping to shape the next generation of world changers.”
Rep. Anchia will be recognized at the 6th-annual Hispanic Alumni Awards Reception April 25 at the SMU Meadows Museum. He will speak about the importance of investing in human capital and maintaining a high-quality infrastructure of opportunity for successor generations.
The son of immigrants from Mexico and Spain, Rep. Anchia has dedicated his public service to fighting for civil rights and public education, protecting the environment, and improving access to healthcare for women and children.
At Haynes and Boone, Rep. Anchia represents financial institutions and public and private funds in a variety of transactions involving, among other things, senior and subordinated debt and equity, domestic and international syndications and distressed debt acquisitions and sales.
Rep. Anchia has been consistently recognized for his public service. In 2014, the Dallas Bar Association honored Rep. Anchia with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award, and, in 2015, the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association awarded him their highest honor, the “La Luz” Award.
From 2011 to 2015, he served President Barack Obama as an appointee to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, which advises the White House and U.S. Trade Representative on trade and investment agreements. He currently Chairs the International Relations and Economic Development Committee and leads the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the oldest and largest Latino caucus in the U.S.
Rep. Anchia received his bachelor’s degree from SMU before serving as Senior Fellow at Tulane University Law School where he received his juris doctor in 1993.