J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo
Senior Counsel to the State Public Advocate
State Public Advocate
J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo serves as Senior Counsel to the State Public Advocate, after most recently serving as Director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, where he was the State’s head anti-discrimination official ensuring enforcement of the NJ Family Leave Act and the NJ Law Against Discrimination. While at Civil Rights, Vespa-Papaleo was recognized for his work to protect children of color from discrimination in workplaces (L.W. v. Subway) and pool clubs (Director v. Le Terrace Swim Club), and for issuing a groundbreaking legal decision involving student peer harassment (L.W. v. Toms River Regional Schools), which was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court. He is known for successfully using little-known provisions of state law to protect the rights of persons with hearing loss, visual impairments and other disabilities and for bringing attention to cutting-edge legal issues on behalf of religious, ethnic, racial, gender and sexual minorities. He also established significant new outreach and community relations functions—including the creation of the Employer Diversity Council, Civil Rights/NAACP Ambassadors Program—and the development of the Disabilities and Public Accommodations Unit and the Housing Discrimination Unit. Having served as Chair of the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, and as a member of the Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council, Arab Heritage Commission, Commission on Bullying in Schools, Disparities Study Commission, and the Human Relations Council, Vespa-Papaleo brings experience and leadership in the areas of education, election, labor, employment and civil rights law. He has been a frequent lecturer and author, and currently serves on the Board of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies and on the Executive Committee of the NJ State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section and GLBT Rights Section. A native of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Vespa-Papaleo is also a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and PRIMER, and was a 1999 Leadership New Jersey Fellow. Prior to his entry into government, Vespa-Papaleo worked in private practice in the areas of labor and employment, education, election and real estate law, counseling clients in the public and private sectors. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, in 2009 he was selected as one of the "40 Under 40" legal professional by the New Jersey Law Journal for his work as an attorney. Vespa-Papaleo is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, United States District for the District of New Jersey, New Jersey Supreme Court, and the District of Columbia. Currently a resident of Essex County, Vespa-Papaleo and his husband were married in California in June 2008.
