Lauded actor, activist Edward Olmos speaker at Breakfast of Champions

Perhaps his most famous role was playing a legendary schoolteacher who inspired poor, at risk students, but Edward James Olmos lives the role of being a noted humanitarian and champion of youth. Olmos, an acclaimed Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, is the featured speaker at the 4th Annual Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley “Breakfast of Champions” to be held May 26.

According to Police Chief Steve MacKinnon, a Club board director and Master of Ceremonies for the “Breakfast of Champions,” Olmos was a natural choice. “Mr. Olmos has a long history of supporting youth in juvenile causes and a strong reputation for not just his impressive acting career, but also for his efforts on behalf of human rights and youth.”

Following the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, Olmos went out with a broom and encouraged others to work together to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt. In 1997 he co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and the non-profit organization Latino Literacy Now that has produced Latino Book & Family Festivals throughout the nation.

In 1998 Olmos founded Latino Public Broadcasting. As chairman he oversees the organization that funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Latinos and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television.

Also involved in other national organizations and programs, Olmos - a past international UNICEF ambassador - makes time for more intimate activism, making frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. “We felt,” said MacKinnon, “that Mr. Olmos would be a great speaker to motivate people” in their support of youth and the activities and programs provided by “The Positive Place for Kids.”