On October 13, the 1st Annual Latina State Legislative Institute meeting took place during the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs’ 6th Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Latina state legislators from states including Nevada, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire convened at the Bellagio Hotel. According to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), there are 65 Latina state legislators nationwide, and a quarter of them were present at this training; approximately 30 participants with a total of 15 Latina state legislators.

The impetus of this event began with retired State Rep. Delia Garcia of Kansas, past national vice president of the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs (BOHCC). A year ago, Garcia had an aspiration to establish an official National Latina Legislative Caucus in order to create a space for training Latina state lawmakers, which became a reality this year.  Garcia worked with Illinois State Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios, BOHCC national secretary; Nevada State Rep. Lucy Flores, BOHCC conference chair, and Sarah Saenz, BOHCC director of operations. Garcia recruited the other two state representatives prior to retiring so there would be Latina leadership in place to carry this goal forward.

“The Legislative Latina Leadership Institute was a success, as we were able to bring some outstanding speakers to address the legislators with powerful messages,” said Illinois State Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios. “I feel this event motivated the participants and fostered a conversation to think outside the box.”

The BOHCC is committed to bolstering state Hispanic caucus leadership across the country and strengthening our network of Hispanic legislative leaders. As a component of the BOHCC’s mission and goals, supporting our strong member base of Latina legislative leaders and fostering the next generation of Latina leaders is paramount to advancing the BOHCC’s goals. “As the first woman to join the BOHCC, I appreciated our goal to assist in the coordination of public policy issues common to our community, especially in the unusual parts of our country,” stated Delia Garcia, former BOHCC national vice chair. “We did this in a different manner with our Latina legislators. It was remarkable to see Latina state legislators attend that I have not met at other national legislative conferences over the past seven years, and they noted that this event is the reason they came.”

Latino political officials overall have made significant strides in growing our legislative influence at the local, state and national levels, which is especially prevalent at the state government level. This immense growth in political representation has been a tremendous development over the last couple of decades. Despite this exceptional growth, the representation of Latina state legislators has not grown at the same rate as their male counterparts. According to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), there are 242 Latino state legislators across the country, there are currently only 65 Latina state legislators total, a decrease from in 2010 when there were 72 total.

The objective for the Latina State Legislative Institute is to increase representation in state government. The Institute consisted of leadership development, health wellness, communication training, and dress for success training hosted by Inaugural partner LATINA Style, Inc. The day began with Keynote Speaker Punam Mathur, vice president of Nevada Energy. A Latina-styled health wellness session of Zumba led by Sergio Martinez was incorporated at mid-day. Afterwards, Lulu Flores, political activist and former president of the National Women Political Caucus spoke about Strategies for Communication for Private and Public Sector Partnerships. Finally, LATINA Style arranged for training on professional appearance led by Macy’s, who provided gifts to all participants to use in their dress for success.

A unique component to this Institute was a group of young Latinas interested in Latina politics. These young Latinas enhanced their knowledge on life as a state legislator. This served as an opportunity to mold and prepare the future generation of Latina leaders at the local, state, and national levels.

The 2nd Annual National Latina State Legislative Leadership Institute will take place on December 2012. For more information, visit us at www.bohcc.com or call (512) 968-4884.