Harlingen Chamber of Commerce

Javier De Leon is a native and a product of Harlingen CISD. He has served the HCISD Board of Trustees since 2005. In addition to his service on the School Board, Javier serves our Harlingen-area community as the President and CEO of the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, Javier is dedicated to uniting and expanding business opportunities in our community. Before this role, he served as the Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at Texas State Technical College for over 30 years. 

His work in public administration and experience is why his biography was accepted for publication in the Chancellor’s list at UT Pan American. Only 1% of the students from the nation’s 3,000 colleges and universities are honored this way each year. Mr. De Leon was currently appointed to the Harlingen EDC board and serves on other boards as the Rio Grande Valley Partnership Board, Rio Grande Vision Board, and is Chairman/Commissioner for Cameron County Civil Service. Mr. De Leon previously served on various boards including the Rio Grande State Center Board, Harlingen Planning and Zoning Appeals Board, Harlingen’s Youth Council Board, UT Houston School of Public Health, Regional Campus at Brownsville, and Leadership Harlingen. He and his wife, Rose Marie – an educator of the Harlingen CISD, have two children, Stephanie, and Monica, who are Harlingen CISD alumni.

In 2019, Mr. De Leon was part of the team recognized as Board of the Year by the Texas Association of School Administrators.