Zoé Laboy Alvarado (born September 17, 1964) is an American attorney and public servant. Laboy served as Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 1997 to 2000. in 2016 she was elected to become a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

with the New Progressive Party (PNP) where she was the leader of the liberal wing of the party. On August 21, 2019, she was appointed as Governor

Wanda Vázquez Garced Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the 188th Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th Secretary of Justice from 2 ...

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. In December 2019, she endorsed former Vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

and has served as co-chair on his 2020 presidential campaign "Puerto Rico for Biden Leadership Committee".

Early years and studies

Zoé Laboy Alvarado was born September 17, 1964, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. She received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Psychology from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

, where she graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. She later completed her

Juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1991, graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. In 1992, Laboy was admitted by the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico () is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United State ...

to practice law.

Professional career: 1991–1997

From 1991 to 1997, Laboy worked for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

as a legal aide in the Criminal Division of the Office of International Affairs. Then she worked as legal aide for the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

where she was part of the team overseeing the establishment of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo. She also served as liaison between the Bureau and the

Government of Puerto Rico The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since 1952, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. Under a system of separation of powers, the ...

Secretary of Corrections: 1997–2000

In 1997, Laboy was appointed by Governor

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...

as Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. As such, she was in charge of supervising all the correctional system of the island. During that time, she created the Department of Investigation of the Correctional System, and collaborated with municipalities for several correctional efforts. She also supervised the Administration of Juvenile Institutions, the Office of Pre-Trial Services, and others. During her time as Secretary, she also served as adviser to the Governor and the Legislative Assembly on security matters. She also was part of the Executive Committee of the

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program is a drug-prohibition enforcement program run by the Executive Office of the President, United States Office of National Drug Control Policy. It was established in 1990 after the Anti-Drug A ...

Program.

Other career ventures

Laboy has also worked as Professor in the Faculty of Criminal Justice of the Universidad del Turabo and the Metropolitan University in Puerto Rico. Laboy has also served as senior partner for the Cintrón & Laboy

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

and is a partner of the Global Strategy Group, Inc. and the Institute for Multidisciplinary Training, Inc.

Political career: 2012–present

In 2012, Laboy decided to run for the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

with the New Progressive Party (PNP). After presenting her candidacy for the District of San Juan, she won the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

. Of the three candidates for the district, Laboy received the most votes. Despite this, Laboy was defeated at the general election 2012. In 2016, she ran for the Senate once more, this time being elected as a Senator-at-large. She is currently the president of the Senate of Puerto Rico Committee on Social and Economical Revitalization, Social and Economical Revitalization. Laboy voted against the controversial "Religious Liberty" law, stating she opposed it because it "opens the door to discrimination." The bill was written by her members of her party and it permits public employees discriminate base on their religious beliefs. She develop a reputation as the most liberal senate member of her party. She is known for her feminist stances, for being pro-choice and a fierce defender of the LGBT community. Nationally, she's a Democrat. On August 21, 2019, Governor

appointed Laboy as her chief of staff. While the fourth female chief of staff, she is the first under a pro-statehood governor until her resignation effective December 31, 2019. In 2020 Zoe Laboy was elected as an at-large member of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico.

References

External links

Zoé Laboy Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laboy, Zoe 1964 births Living people Chiefs of staff of Puerto Rico Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians New Progressive Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni 21st-century Puerto Rican women politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican women politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican women lawyers 20th-century Puerto Rican lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican women lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican lawyers 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico