Janet Murguía (born September 6, 1960) is a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

activist in the United States. She is president of

UnidosUS UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizen ...

, formerly

National Council of La Raza UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizen ...

(NCLR), a Hispanic advocacy organization. Her twin sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and elder brother

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

are both federal judges.

National Council of La Raza

On January 1, 2005, Murguía replaced Raul Yzaguirre as the president and CEO of the

(NCLR), the largest national

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

civil rights advocacy organization in the U.S. As President and CEO, Murguía often testifies before Congress about issues affecting the Latino community including education, health care, immigration reform, civil rights and the economy. In her role as a spokesperson for the organization, she is frequently interviewed by various news outlets and has appeared on many news programs. Murguiaspelling

Murguía currently serves as a board member of the Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, and is an executive committee member of the

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (The Leadership Conference), formerly called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups. Organizational history The Leadership C ...

. She also sits on the board of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. Murguia serves on the advisory board of the

National Hispanic University The National Hispanic University (NHU) was a small, private university located in San Jose, California, founded by Stanford-educated Dr. B. Roberto Cruz. National Hispanic University ceased operations on August 23, 2015. It was the first four-yea ...

. Murguía endorsed Democratic candidate

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Past positions held

In 2001, Murguía joined the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

(KU) as Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations. Murguía managed KU's strategic planning and marketing efforts on four campuses. Before joining KU, she served as deputy campaign manager and director of constituency outreach for the Al Gore's presidential campaign during the 2000 presidential election where she was the primary liaison between former Vice President Gore and national constituency groups. She also served as a spokesperson for the campaign, working with radio, print, and TV media outlets. Murguía served seven years as legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman

Jim Slattery James Charles Slattery (born August 4, 1948) is an American politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district as a Democrat, was the Democratic nominee for governor in 19 ...

before working at the White House from 1994 to 2000. She eventually served as deputy assistant to President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, providing strategic and legislative advice to the president. She also served as deputy director of legislative affairs where she was in charge of the legislative staff and acted as a senior White House liaison to Congress.

Honors

In 2022, Murguía was named as one of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

s Women of the Year, which recognizes women who have made a significant impact.

References

External links

Biography
from the NCLR

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murguia, Janet 1960 births Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights American legal scholars American people of Mexican descent Assistants to the President of the United States Clinton administration personnel Kansas Democrats Living people People from Kansas City, Kansas University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas faculty