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Kimberly
Kirkpatrick
Legislative Correspondent for Senator Lamar
Alexander |
Linda Macias,
Chief of Staff for Congressman
Joe Baca
|
Latina chiefs
of staff like Herrera-Flanigan view supporting
younger colleagues as an integral part of their work.
“My staffers often call and ask for advice on their
careers, or on balancing life and work,” she says.
“All through my career I’ve had people who reached
out to me and shared their experiences, so I try to
do the same thing for other folks.” For Linda
Macias, that kind of guidance was crucial. "When I
first got to the Hill, being Latina - just being a
woman - was a major challenge," she recalls. With
support from the other Latino Members' offices,
Macias was able to learn the ropes. "There were key
people who came up and said, 'Whatever you need, I'm
there for you.’”
Hispanic organizations on the Hill have also been
helpful to Latina staffers. Predominant among them
are the Congressional Hispanic Staffers Association
(CHSA), the Congressional Hispanic Conference, the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and nonprofit
organizations like the National Association of
Latino Elected Officials. These organizations
provide Hill staffers with opportunities for
networking and career advancement, from periodic e-mails
announcing events and job opportunities to happy
hours and even a softball team (the CHSA Chili Dogs,
which is doing very well this season). Says Sabrina
De Santiago, associate director for the Senate
Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee and the
CHSA treasurer, “There’s always something going on—we
try to promote Latino advancement and professional
development, and we use ourselves as a network to
get the latest news on vacancies.”
Another avenue of support comes from the Latina
members of Congress. Many Latina staffers get their
start on the Hill working for a Latina congresswoman—Rojas
began in Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard’s
office—and even those working in other offices cite
them as an invaluable resource. “[Ileana Ros-Lehtinen]
is very human, she worries about her staff, and she
sees us as her Congressional family,” says Del
Portillo. Jimenez mentions that Congresswomen Hilda
Solis and Linda Sanchez have been consistently
helpful and supportive.
Still, several Latina staffers feel that now would
be a great time for a formal Latina-to-Latina
network. The Hill is known for its cutthroat
competitiveness—and for the low pay given to entry-level
staffers—and having a mentor might help soften those
rough edges. “In college, we had an actual mentoring
program for Latinas,” recalls Angela Ramirez, now a
senior legislative assistant in the Office of
Congressman Joseph Crowley. “When you come to the
Hill, it’s a bit more of a free-for-all—it’s a much
bigger pool of people.”
For staffers who are just starting out, formal
mentoring groups can help encourage them to stay for
the long haul, and ultimately to rise through the
ranks. And some of the more senior staffers say that
at points along the way, they, too, have felt the
need for a formal mentoring program. “Now that
there’s a recognition that I’ve moved ahead, more
people want to mentor me—but it would have been
extremely helpful to have had people to mentor me
throughout,” one staffer reflects.
Forming an organization on the Hill can involve some
complex bureaucratic maneuvering. Part of the
challenge lies in simply locating all the Latinas in
different offices on the Hill. A comprehensive list
of Latina staffers in both the House and the Senate
doesn’t seem to exist yet, but initial efforts are
being made to track people down and get them
involved. “We are trying to figure out who else is
here and develop some sort of network in the Senate,”
says Urrutia. “We’re excited about the opportunity
to connect with each other and develop an
infrastructure.”
Likewise, Jimenez thinks that the time is ripe for
organization. “There have been various discussions
from individuals on and off the Hill about getting a
group together,” she says. “There are little pockets
of activities taking place, because this is the
first time where we’ve had a very large group of
female staffers in senior positions. We haven’t done
any formal organizing yet, but I can see that
happening in the near future.”
More than anything, the rate of increase of Latina
staffers is remarkable to anyone who’s been on the
Hill for more than a few years. “It’s something that
we all talk about with each other,” says Montoya.
And Sarmiento de Poblete notes that the number of
Latinas in leadership positions has also mushroomed
as entry-level staffers have risen through the ranks.
“There are more women reaching positions in
leadership or as senior staff,” agrees Rodriguez-Ciampoli,
who was pleasantly surprised when she looked in the
Senate phone directory recently and found a dozen
other Rodriguezes listed.
While Latina Hill staffers are excited to be
surrounded by so many other Latinas, they are aware
that more could be done to increase their numbers—especially
in leadership positions. “Senators and Members need
to be open to people who have new perspectives,”
says one staffer. “A lot of the responsibility falls
on their shoulders, since they do the hiring.”
Other Latinas suggest that national Hispanic groups
should take the initiative by applying more pressure
to public officials and encouraging them to reach
out to the Hispanic community. And Aguirre notes
that potential Latina staffers should be given
encouragement and support. “One thing that needs to
happen is to give young Latinas that sense of self-esteem,
to tell them that they can do something bigger than
themselves—that they can run with the big guys,” she
says.
Indeed, many Latina staffers are inspired by just
that: the desire to do something bigger than
themselves. “I have given serious thought to having
a political career of my own,” says Rojas. “It’s
important to have fair representation in Congress—and
though the number of Latinas is growing, it’s not
big enough yet.”
Others contemplate eventual careers off Capitol
Hill. Montoya is hoping to someday start an
education-based nonprofit, and she’s not alone. “I’m
really enjoying my time with the government,” says
Kimberly Kirkpatrick, a legislative correspondent in
the Office of Senator Lamar Alexander. “But I might
want to work in the nonprofit sector some day—I have
a desire to see female leaders empowered within
their communities.”
No matter what the future holds for these Latina
staffers, it’s clear that by climbing Capitol Hill,
they’re already making a big difference for their
communities and for their country.
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