Zulema Hinojos-Fall

Biography

Zulema Hinojos-Fall serves as an Administrative Judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) where she adjudicates the employment discrimination complaints of the federal work force. Prior to being appointed Administrative Judge, Zulema was a Senior Litigation Attorney for the EEOC where she litigated private sector employment discrimination complaints. Zulema was a Deputy King County Prosecutor prior to joining the EEOC.

In 2001 she became the first woman of color to sit on the board of the Washington State Bar Association’s (WSBA) Board of Governors where she promoted and championed professional development and opportunity for attorneys of color in Washington State. Under her leadership, the WSBA elected the first African-American president in its 100 year history, increased the number of women and minorities on its board, and elected the first Indian attorney board member.

Born and raised in Mexico, Zulema is the first person in her family to have graduated from university and attended a professional school. English is her second language, having learned English at the age of 10 when her family immigrated to the United States. In 2004 she was honored with the Outstanding Lawyer Award by the Latino/a Bar Association of Washington. She has also been recognized for her commitment to public service and organizational leadership through the 2001 Federal Executive Board’s Public Service Award and the 2003 EEOC’s 1st Annual Core Award.

Zulema supports and encourages the higher education goals and aspirations of economically disadvantaged at-risk youth in the Seattle community by serving as a mentor to numerous high school students and as a speaker in local stay-in-school programs. She currently serves as the Chair of the WSBA’s Bar leader’s Conference, and on the boards of the WSBA Leadership Institute and Verity Credit Union. She also works on behalf of funding for civil legal aid programs as the Chair-elect of the Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid.