Orange County Corrections Chief to be Honored with National Award

Orange County Corrections Chief Louis A. Quiñones, Jr. will be honored as a Latino Leader at an awards ceremony in Miami during the Seventh Annual National Latino Leadership Conference on September 21, 2022.

Presented by the Council for Latino Workplace Equity, an initiative under the National Diversity Council, the awards highlight individuals who have achieved success in their careers while paving the way for other Latinos to advance in the workplace.

Programs in place to support Hispanic inmates at the jail include a Spanish life-learning program and a Spanish portion of the Good News Jail & Prison Ministries Program. Chief Quiñones also ensures that the agency participates in numerous community events during the annual celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings said Chief Quiñones is most deserving of this award. “Chief Quiñones is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion. He is extremely proud of his Hispanic heritage, and works to celebrate it for other Latinos in the workplace.”

Mayor Demings said more than 20 percent of employees at the Orange County Corrections Department are Hispanic and more than a third of Orange County residents are of Hispanic heritage.

Danny Banks, Public Safety Director for Orange County, echoes the Mayor’s praise for Chief Quiñones. “He consistently demonstrates leadership excellence and a high level of support for the Hispanic community.”

He is the first Hispanic Chief of Corrections in Orange County and he is the first Chief to have worked his way up to the top spot after starting as a correctional officer more than three decades ago.