Javier F. Herrera

Video: 40 Under 40 Man of the Year
Javier F. Herrera

Javier F. Herrera has been dedicated to helping young people since he himself was a teen.

An anti-violence forum in Washington, D.C., at 17. Honors from TUSD, the governor, the FBI and the president for service to the community. At 23, he was the youngest state director for Arizona League of United Latin American Citizens. At 24, he was LULAC's man of the year.

On the job, this 26-year-old has an uncanny knack for influencing hundreds of people on the practice of safe driving, says Richard Fimbres, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

"Javier has been a key component is reducing the statistics (related to fatalities and accidents) among young people in Arizona, because he has made sure that parents and guardians are involved in educating them," Fimbres says. He's really grass roots about it as he's a young adult himself, and it's peers talking to peers, which teens listen to more than adults."

Fimbres adds that Herrera, an administrative services officer and the 2008 40 Under 40 Man of the Year, loves his work and is always willing to help build bridges to get the mission done, especially since the Teen Safe Driving Act went into effect July 1.

He is just as dedicated to the fight against substance abuse.

Paul Appleby, program coordinator for STARToday at COPE Community Services, has worked with Herrara as part of the Meth Free Alliance. Appleby describes him as one of the most brilliant young people he knows. His insight into how to organize, structure and then present information of such a heavy nature and have it well received is "incredible."

"Javier communicates at all levels - from the top of the tree to the roots," Appleby says. "When he co-chaired the Meth Free Alliance, it was heavy with law enforcement, but people listened to Javier because he saw what everyone's needs were. He wasn't big-headed about it. He made the information practical yet humorous.

"If I wasn't me, I'd like to be Javier!" Appleby says.

Fimbres and Appleby don't just sing Herrera's professional praises. While they see him as fully competent in that arena, they are also struck by how he helps people at the drop of a hat.

Abe Marques, an aide to Ward 5 City Council Member Steve Leal and a LULAC member, got to know Herrera when he an intern in Leal's office and through his tenure as president of LULAC.

"Beyond loving him because he's super neat, I respect him," Marques says. "He has his own perspective on how to get from A to B. I guess that's what you call leadership."