Pictured: Asm. Jose Medina, Sen. Ed Hernandez, Sen. Ricardo Lara, Hon. Hilda Solis, Speaker John A. Pérez, Sen. Norma Torres, Asm. Raul Bocanegra
Former United States Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, was confirmed on February 24, 2009, becoming the first Latina to serve in the United States Cabinet. Prior to that post, Secretary Solis represented the 32ndCongressional District in California from 2001 to 2009, where her priorities included expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment and improving the lives of working families. First elected to public office in 1985 as a member of the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees, she went on to serve in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1994, and in 1994 made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the California State Senate. A nationally recognized leader on the environment, in 2000 Solis became the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her pioneering work on environmental justice issues. Her California environmental justice legislation, enacted in 1999, was the first of its kind in the nation. Solis graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.