Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy

Join Victoria Ochoa as she speaks with Rochelle Garza, a civil rights attorney and 5th generation Texan from the Rio Grande Valley currently running for TX Attorney General.

Rochelle has spent her legal career fighting for the civil rights of children, immigrants, and families. She even took on Donald Trump, Ken Paxton, and Brett Kavanaugh when they tried to prevent an immigrant teen, Jane Doe, from exercising her right to choose - and won. Her work has had broad impacts, like the “Garza Notice,” a notification requirement that teens in immigration detention have a constitutional right to access abortion care, and also meaningful individual impacts, like helping Trans clients acquire name and gender marker changes on their documentation to not only affirm who they are but to live a life of safety.

Rochelle graduated from the University of Houston Law Center and from Brown University with honors. She lives in Brownsville with her husband, Adam, and their dog, Ramses. They’re expecting their first child, a daughter, this year.

Welcome to our first HJHP Podcast for the 2020-2021 academic year. We’re kicking off this year's series, Resilience and Reconciliation, with an interview with Ammar Campa-Najjar, former Congressional candidate for California's 50th district.

In our conversation with Ammar, we talked about his journey in running for public office, his experience growing up as a Latino and Arab American, his views on healthcare reform, and many more of his life and professional experiences.

Over the next few months, Journal staff will interview Latinx elected officials, candidates, students, academics, activists, and leaders, to learn about their journey, perspectives on culture, and policy.

Welcome to our second HJHP Podcast for the 2019-2020 academic year. For the second episode of our series, Pain to Power, we interviewed Mayor of Topeka, KS Michelle De La Isla.

In our conversation with Mayor De La Isla, we learned about her journey from New York to the Mayoral office in Topeka. We talked about her upbringing, her views on diversity, and leadership lessons she has learned on her path to becoming Mayor.

Pain to Power: Voices of Latinx Leaders and Trailblazers is the theme for the 2019-20 Policy Podcast. Throughout the year, Journal staff will interview Latinx elected officials, students, academics, activists, and leaders, to learn about their journey, perspectives on culture, policy, and social change, and how they leverage their Latinidad to break barriers and influence society at large.

Stay tuned! Episode 3 will feature the second part of our conversation with Michelle De La Isla, Mayor of Topeka, Kansas.

Welcome to our first HJHP Podcast for the 2019-2020 academic year. We kick off this year's series, Pain to Power, with an interview with Delia Garcia, Kansas Secretary of Labor.

In our conversation with Secretary Garcia, we learned about her journey from her family's restaurant in Wichita to her role as an executive at national nonprofit in Washington, DC. We talked about her decision to accept Governor Kelly's appointment as Secretary of Labor, her priorities for her tenure, her advice on reaching across the aisle, and her favorite music. This episode of Pain to Power was co-sponsored by the Harvard Taubman Center for State and Local Government.

Pain to Power: Voices of Latinx Leaders and Trailblazers is the theme for the 2019-20 Policy Podcast. Throughout the year, Journal staff will interview Latinx elected officials, students, academics, activists, and leaders, to learn about their journey, perspectives on culture, policy, and social change, and how they leverage their Latinidad to break barriers and influence society at large.

Stay tuned! Episode 2 will feature another powerful Latina, Michelle De La Isla, Mayor of Topeka, Kansas. Our conversation will center on her journey from New York to Kansas, inclusive economic development, and how to lead across difference.