Women of color today are contributing to an unprecedented wave of “firsts”: whether they are the first in a family to attend college, the first to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or the first in public office, women of color are reaching new heights of influence.
Cecilia Muñoz was a first, too, and she knows what it means to make her way without exemplars to follow. The first Latinx to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council, Muñoz draws lessons from the challenges she faced both as the senior Latinx official in the Obama White House and as a longtime powerful voice in the civil rights movement. In the book, she shares her insights, along with those of some extraordinary women of color she met along the way, as an offering of inspiration to women of color who are no longer willing to be invisible or left behind.
In conversation with Laleh Ispahani and Stephanie Valencia, Muñoz reflects on how government works and how it falls short, providing valuable lessons for others engaged in advocacy and fighting for social justice.
Speakers
-
Laleh Ispahani
Moderator
Laleh Ispahani is managing director of Programs at the Open Society Foundations.
-
Cecilia Muñoz
Speaker
Cecilia Muñoz, currently a senior advisor at New America, is a national leader in public policy and public interest technology with nearly three decades of experience in the nonprofit sector and eight years of service on President Obama’s senior team.
-
Stephanie Valencia
Speaker
Stephanie Valencia is the co-founder of EquisLabs, an organization working to create a more active, powerful Latinx electorate.
Read more
Civic Engagement
Bolstering Women and Youth, Linchpins of Democracy
Philanthropy has historically underfunded women and youth. Open Society’s new $50 million investment in their engagement addresses that imbalance—and builds on recent surges in civic engagement crucial to the future of American democracy.
Solidarity against Hatred
A History of Anti-Asian Hate in the United States
The Atlanta-area shooting was just the latest instance of rising violence against people of Asian descent. We need to understand its roots—and the intersecting factors at work—to stop hate’s spread.
RIP RBG
Aryeh Neier Remembers Ruth Bader Ginsburg
In a personal reflection, Open Society Foundations President Emeritus Aryeh Neier remembers the late Supreme Court Justice as a trailblazer, brilliant mind, and personal friend.