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Julián Castro served as the secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama. At HUD, Castro oversaw 8,000 employees and a budget of $46 billion, using a performance-driven approach to achieve the department's mission of expanding opportunity for all Americans. Secretary Castro spearheaded efforts to expand broadband access for public housing residents, combat housing discrimination throughout the nation, and reduce homelessness among veterans, youth, and families. During his tenure, HUD was recognized as the most improved mid-sized federal agency in the annual Best Places to Work survey.

Prior to joining the Cabinet, Castro served as mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014. Under his leadership, San Antonio ranked first in the Milken Institute's Best-Performing Cities list, earned a triple-A rating among all three major ratings agencies, and was ranked as the nation's No. 3 new tech hotspot by Forbes. In 2010, the city opened Café College, a one-stop center for free, personalized college admissions and financial aid counseling, and in 2012 local voters approved PreK4SA, a ballot initiative to expand high-quality, full-day pre-K in the city.

The World Economic Forum named Castro to its list of Young Global Leaders in 2010. Later that year, Time magazine placed him on its 40 Under 40 list of rising stars in American politics.

Castro is currently working on a memoir for publisher Little, Brown. He also serves on the boards of directors for Common Sense and the LBJ Foundation.

Castro received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1996 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2000. He and his wife, Erica, have a daughter, Carina, and a son, Cristián. His twin brother, Joaquin, represents San Antonio as the congressman for Texas' 20th congressional district.