Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez is serving her sixteenth term as Representative for New York's 7th Congressional District. In the 118th Congress, she is the Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, and a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

As a fighter for the equal rights of the underrepresented and a proponent of economic opportunity for the working class and poor, Congresswoman Velázquez combines sensibility and compassion as she works to encourage economic development, protect community health and the environment, combat crime and worker abuses, and secure access to affordable housing, quality education, and health care for all New York City families.

Katharine Pichardo-Erskine is a trailblazer who has melded political organizing expertise and executive leadership to become a widely recognized change-maker in the governmental, political, and civic arena. She took charge as Executive Director at Latino Victory with a mission perfectly suited to her 25 years of experience as a successful leader and passionate advocate: building political power within the Latino community and ensuring that Latino voices are included in the nation’s policy and fiscal agenda. 

Most recently, Katharine served as Senior Vice President at the MirRam Group, a top-tier New York-based strategic consulting firm where she has managed some of the firm’s most prominent portfolios. Between 2018 and 2022, Katharine also led the firm’s political arm, as President of the Hamilton Campaign Network (HCN).

In this week’s episode, we discuss Nydia’s twenty-five political career and how her contributions have improved our country. Nydia shares stories about the man who tried to sabotage her career, her spearheaded policies, and all the amazing ways she’s supported our community. And you can help support her, too! Latino representation in politics has always been an issue, but now is an amazing time for Latinas to join the cause. Tune in to this week’s episode to learn how. 

Keep up with Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez on her Instagram and her official website. 

Keep up with Katherine on her LinkedIn and the Latino Victory website. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.