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 chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

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 Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th secretary of Justice, from 2017 to 201 ...

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 supporti ...

. In December 2019, she endorsed former Vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden 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") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. She received her

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

in Psychology from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

, 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 So ...

. She later completed her

Juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

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 Sou ...

. In 1992, Laboy was admitted by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico 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 federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

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 United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

where she was part of the team overseeing the establishment of the

Metropolitan Detention Center A Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is a United States Federal government detention facility (prison) operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. There are MDCs throughout the United States. An MDC, unlike a Federal Penitentiary, is designed t ...

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...

. She also served as liaison between the Bureau and the

Government of Puerto Rico The government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government with separation of powers, subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.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, a ...

as Secretary of the

Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The Puerto Rico Department of Correction and Rehabilitation () is the law enforcement executive department of the government responsible for structuring, developing, and coordinating the public policies in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territ ...

. 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 United States Office of National Drug Control Policy. It was established in 1990 after the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was passed. The HID ...

Program.

Other career ventures

Laboy has also worked as Professor in the Faculty of Criminal Justice of the

Universidad del Turabo Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

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 clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

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 ( es, Senado de 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 th ...

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 Works * ...

. 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 women lawyers 21st-century Puerto Rican women lawyers