Tony Aguilar

Born and raised in the South Bronx, Tony Aguilar has over 25 years of public life. As a community organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation, he was the associate organizer in the building of Nehemiah Homes in the South Bronx and the lead organizer for economic development in Southeast Queens. In New Jersey he was involved in environmental cleanup and passage of a prevailing wage ordinance in Jersey City New Jersey. As Assistant to the Lutheran Bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod, he created the Urban Leaders Institute which trained congregational leaders and the Urban Empowerment Fund which provided grants to congregations working with persons in poverty. During this time, he was appointed to serve as presiding lay minister for a Lutheran congregation in Brooklyn. He has also served on the board of directors for non-profit institutions including Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York, the former Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn New York, Council of Churches for the City of New York and the Inter-church Center. He is the author of three books and has hosted a cable television and radio talk show where he interviewed public figures on current events. His fourth book Is America Broken" will be available in March 2025. He is a member of the President’s Club of the Chicago Council for Global Affairs and the Foreign Policy Association. In addition to The Aguilar Conversations: A Global Perspective he also has a blog called the Aguilar Commentary.
The Aguilar Conversations: A Global Perspective is available on Spotify, Amazon., Apple Podcast and Google podcast.