Gloria De Leon (born December 16, 1952) has been involved with the National Hispanic Institute since its establishment and has served as the organization's Executive Vice President since 1982.
Born in McAllen, Texas, De Leon attended McAllen High School and later entered the University of Texas Pan American where she received her Bachelor of Science in Social Work.
After her undergraduate coursework, De Leon served in various management positions in both the state and federal government.In 1983, Gloria De Leon decided to leave government to pursue the vision of creating a leadership institute for Latino youth with Ernesto Nieto, founder and current president of the National Hispanic Institute (NHI).
Under the leadership of both De Leon and Nieto, the National Hispanic Institute has worked with over 120 institutions of higher education and 70,000 high-ability youth from across the nation.