Joseph Henry

Joe Enriquez Henry is a graduate of Iowa State University and state director for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa.

In 2011, he co-founded LULAC Council 307 in Des Moines because he wanted Latinos in Iowa to become part of a national organization that could help them reclaim their spirit in fighting to address their rights in the areas of immigration, jobs, health care and education.

Mr. Henry was at the forefront in the recent fight against voter suppression in Iowa. He worked with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa to file a lawsuit against Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz, a Republican, in an attempt to stop Schultz from enacting laws that would suppress voters, many of whom were Latinos, from enacting their constitutional right to vote.

Mr. Henry also has been involved with several other efforts in the Latino community. He helped organize the first-ever Latino Legislative Day at the Iowa State Capitol in 2013, led a successful Latino voter registration effort in 2012, and oversaw the creation of the first-ever database of registered Latino voters in Iowa. The database identified almost 35,000 registered Latino voters by political party, residency and voting history. The information was used for Iowa LULAC’s voter outreach and registration campaign, which, along with the work of other Latino organizations, resulted in several thousand more Latinos in Iowa registering to vote in the November election.

Currently, Mr. Henry serves on the national board of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the United Way of Central Iowa Income Committee and is a commissioner for the Des Moines Civil Service.  He recently was appointed to the grievance board of the Iowa Supreme Court.