Offering fresh perspective in the national political debate, Washington Post Writers Group Columnist Ruben Navarrette's voice can be heard twice weekly around the world.

This San Joaquin Valley native and Harvard graduate writes primarily about Latino issues and their impact on politics. He also is an editor for the Los Angeles-based, Latino men's magazine OYE.

In addition to his bachelor's degree from Harvard, Navarrette earned a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is an editorial board member for The Dallas Morning News and authored a 1993 book, "A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano," as well as articles for Newsweek and the Arizona Republic. Recent columns have addressed California's ever-changing demographics as well as state efforts to create a Racial Privacy Initiative that would "get the government out of the racial classification business."