Activism and business have long been benchmarks of 35-year-old Fred Sotelo’s life. At 19, he was appointed to the county’s Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Commission. Although the youngest commissioner, Sotelo was an experienced entrepreneur. He was 15 when he started his first business, Sonic Sound, a disc jockey business.

Twenty years later, Soleto is president of Toltec Media, an enterprise that includes El Mundo Latino newspaper and the entertainment-oriented VivaHollywood.com. Sotelo’s Tula Media is a marketing and promotions business with clients including the MGM Mirage, National Council of La Raza, MAAC Project and San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Last month, Sotelo launched LatinResponse.com, an online marketing joint venture. Of himself and his colleagues, Sotelo says, “We’re business people; we’re activists. We’re busy; we hope we’re having fun.”

As a student at SDSU, Sotelo’s activities included volunteering for the annual Association of Chicana Activists High School and Women’s Conference. In 1991, he co-founded TRIBE (Training Right in Business and Education). The mentoring program involved at-risk middle school and high school students in the San Diego Unified School District.

Sotelo served on the San Diego City Police Policies and Practices Review Board from 2002-2004. He’s on the board of Casa Familiar in San Ysidro and chairs the National Latin Hip Hop Coalition board.

Sotelo also co-founded Explota El Voto, a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter outreach organization.

His efforts have brought commendations from legislators and the key to the city of Las Vegas. Those are gratifying, but he’s most pleased by the reaction of his 12-year-old daughter Briana. She has become a community activist. “Nothing is better than Briana asking, ‘Where are we going to give out flyers and put posters up for Explota El Voto this weekend, Dad?’”