Antonio Arocho (born

Hatillo, Puerto Rico Hatillo () is a town and municipality located in Puerto Rico's north coast, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Lares and Utuado to the south, Camuy to the west, and Arecibo to the east. According to the 2000 US Census Hatillo is spre ...

), more commonly known as Tony Arocho, is an attorney and former

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the Hispanic National Bar Association (2006–2008). He is the founder and principal attorney of the Arocho Law Office. He is a member of the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands bars. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade, and

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

Education

Arocho has degrees from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Ma ...

(Juris Doctor) and Rider College (now

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

) (Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Business Administration). While in high school he took college courses at

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...

. As a freshman at

Rider College Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

, he was instrumental in resurrecting the La Tropicana Club, the predecessor to the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), and in transforming the club into a Latino/Hispanic student union organization. La Tropicana Club was founded as a social club at Rider College in the 1930s by Cuban and Puerto Rican students who named their club after a famous venue in Havana, Cuba. While serving as President of the La Tropicana Club, Latino students at Rider College began to serve as tutors for Latino students at Trenton High School. Also he was instrumental in increasing the recruitment and retention of Latino/Hispanic students. During his junior year, Arocho presented a proposal to the Rider College president and administration for a minor program in Hispanic/Latino studies. He also organized voter registration drives focusing primarily on registering poor citizens in Trenton, New Jersey. In his senior year, he unsuccessfully attempted to create a statewide association of Hispanic/Latino college organizations.

dd citations DD, dd, or other variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment *"D.D.", track from the mixtape ''Echoes of Silence'' by the Weeknd * DD (character), a character in ''The Saga of Seven Suns'' novels by Kevin J. Anderson *DD National or DD1, an ...

He was elected as Senator in the Rider College Student Government Association. While in law school he served as student attorney for the Essex-Newark Legal Services legal clinic program.

Public service

Arocho served as an Assistant U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General, Director of Labor Relations for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and as a special assistant to the Delegate to U.S. House of Representatives from the Virgin Islands. He has substantial experience with litigation in federal and local courts. He also served as a hearing officer with the District of Columbia Public Service Commissio

As an Assistant U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General he argued several high-profile cases on behalf of the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands in federal and territorial courts. One of these cases is the seminal right-to-die case, ''Fredella v. Farrelly'' (a 1993 Territorial Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands decision), which set forth the medical standards that requires two EEG tests be performed within a 24-hour period to confirm the absence of brain activity and that neurological tests be performed by two neurologists. See, e.g., 28 V.I. 90 (Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands, 1993). While a student at

, he was appointed by the Mercer County Board of Freeholders to serve on the Mercer County Office of Training & Employment Services Advisory Board. On September 12, 2000, he was appointed by the Honorable Parris N. Glendening, Governor of the State of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, to serve as a Commissioner on the Governor's Commission of Hispanic Affairs the remainder of a term of three years from January 1, 200

He served as an officer in the Maryland state reserve of the

Maryland Military Department The Maryland Military Department (MMD) is a department of the State of Maryland directed by the adjutant general of Maryland. The Maryland Military Department consists of the: *State Operations section, which manages fiscal and administrative ...

that is called

Maryland Defense Force The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is the state defense force for the state of Maryland. The MDDF is organized as a state military reserve organization organized parallel to the Maryland National Guard and is designed to augment the National Guard ...

Nonprofit Sector

Arocho's experience includes working with many nonprofit organizations as counsel, board member, and part of the management team. He served as interim executive director of the Hispanic National Bar Associationbr>
from 2012 to 2013 and served as executive director from 2006 to 200

From 2008 to 2009, upon the request of Nilda I. Ruiz, president and C.E.O. of Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha, Inc.(AP

he provided technical and managerial assistance to APM, including serving as special assistance to the president, interim vice-president for health and human services and as interim vice-president for human service programs. Earlier efforts included implementing membership objectives and advocacy efforts as a vice-president at the National Community Reinvestment Coalitio

He provided technical assistance to Hispanic community-based organizations and community development corporations around the nation while at the National Council of La Raz

He served as the Pennsylvania Association of Latino Organizations, Inc.'s (PALO) first chief operating officer. Arocho has successfully raised funds for diverse causes from private sources, private foundations, individuals, and government grants. In addition, he has provided legal representation to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, the poorest group of working people in the United State

During his college years he served on the executive boards of the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey and Puerto Rican Action Committee of Mercer County. He began working with nonprofits while in high school (Summer 1975) where he created and supervised a Hispanic Needs Assessment Survey for the Hightstown-East Windsor Community Action Service Center.

Native American/Amerindian/Indigenous Involvement

In the 1990s, Arocho served as an advisor to the Hon. Hilary Frederik who was the Chief of the Carib Territory of the Carib people (Kalinago) on the island of

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

. He arranged several official visits and presentations by Chief Frederick to the mainland United States and U.S. Virgin Islands. Also Arocho has provided advice to several unrecognized and

state recognized tribes in the United States State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Philanthropy

Arocho donated his extensive Native American book collection to the Nanticoke Indian Museum & Library of the

Nanticoke Indian Association The Nanticoke Indian Association is a group of Nanticoke who have their headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. They organized and were recognized by the state as a legal entity in 1881, known as the Independent Body. They were recognized as a N ...

in Delawar

In addition, in honor of his parents, Arocho made a generous gift of over one hundred philosophy, religious and theological books and material to the new library of Philadelphia's Esperanza College of

Eastern University (United States) Eastern University (EU) is a private Christian university in the St. Davids, Pennsylvania area, with additional locations in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and seminary programs. Easte ...

Publications

En rest af dansk ret bliver stadig brut pa de Dansk-vestindiske Oer/Vol 6 Juristen (1998)-Danish Economist & Lawyer Journal. The Danish National Archives web page on law in the Virgin Islands cited this article. Conciliation of Civil Disputes in the Territorial Court of the USVI: A Vestige of Danish Jurisprudence in the Caribbean-

Recognitions & Community Activities

Joint Legislative Resolution of NJ Senate and Legislature (July 1999) recognized Antonio Arocho's contributions to farmworkers in New Jersey, Camden Regional Legal Services, and community. Arocho donated his extensive Native American book collection to the Nanticoke Indian Museum & Library of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe in Delawar

Antonio Arocho New HNBA Executive Directo

https://archive.today/20130125104535/http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2006/8/10/antonio_arocho_new_hnba_executive_director.htm]

Antonio Arocho, Vice-President, National Community Reinvestment Coalitio

D.C. Attorney donates American Indian book collectio

ref>http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/28397559.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arocho, Antonio Living people People from Hatillo, Puerto Rico Year of birth missing (living people) Puerto Rican lawyers Rider University alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni American chief operating officers