
	:: UCLA TODAY Home
	:: Contact Us

	:: UCLA HOME
	©2004 The Regents of the University of California

VOL. 24. NO.1 AUGUST 12, 2003

Photo by Reed Hutchinson UCLA Photographic Services

15 SECONDS

Margaret Leal-Sotelo

Assistant Director, Center for Community Partnerships

After receiving an M.S.W. in 1981 from San Jose State University, Leal-Sotelo joined the staff of UCLA’s Department of Medicine. From 1999-2001, she worked at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund as a national census director, then returned to UCLA in 2001 as chief of staff for the UC Institute for Labor and Employment. She assumed her current position in December 2002.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Atticus Finch, the lawyer in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” We need more Atticus Finches in life — kind, decent people of conscience.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Patience. To be effective in social change, you can’t always wait.

What is your favorite journey?
Any trip through the Southwest that includes Canyon de Chelly, Chinle, Window Rock and Second Mesa in Arizona and Espanola, New Mexico.