The late Magdaleno ("Leno") Rose-Avila

Magdaleno (“Leno”) Rose-Avila was a human rights activist and writer. He served as Director of Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Leno has spent his lifetime working on behalf of civil and human rights. In 1968, he participated in the protests at the University of Colorado around the death of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The protests led to many changes on campus including the development of the first programs for minorities as well as co-ed dorms. Leno served as a Peace Corps country director in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Micronesia. His past employment included Amnesty International, the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, Moratorium 2000, the Department of Labor, the Colorado Migrant Council, and the Democratic National Committee. His poetry is published in Los Cuatro and Looking for My Wings. Among Leno’s many awards is the Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award given to him by the Human Rights Commission of the City of Seattle. Leno passed away in May 2026, but his legacy of advancing human rights lives on.