[1] Velasquez was born and raised in Chicago's West Humboldt Park neighborhood and is a strong believer in mentoring youth and aspiring Emergency Managers.

During his time at Illinois State, he was elected to student government, serving as director of Human Rights and Advocacy, as well as president of the Criminal Justice Association.

"[5] From 2007 to 2010 Velasquez was named by the Blagojevich and Quinn Administrations to serve in their cabinets both as Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and as Homeland Security Advisor.

These initiatives focused on enhancing the region's readiness posture with an emphasis on leveraging technology and data for analysis and decision support to improve response and recovery operations, individual and community preparedness and planning for all types of threats and hazards.

[1] Velasquez initiated and exercised leadership over the development of a comprehensive operational plan to address the effects of an Improvised Nuclear Device detonation in a large metropolitan area.

This integrated planning effort included FEMA Region V, the States of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, the City of Chicago and surrounding counties and various private sector entities.

Velasquez has also served a key role in FEMA's support of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Civil Emergency Planning Committee events.