Couple of excited to have students and members of the community from a couple of nevada uni universitys. Welcome. Thank you for joining us. Everyone is aware that this videopos is being recorded and will be posted for viewing later. I have always been very we interested in the issue that we will be focused verson tonight. That is diversity in Public Service. Ost ive spent most of mypolitil career working in the political trencheseslook, looking around n seeing a lack of representation, struck me. De,on the political side, on the policy side. Tonight we are thrilled to be joined by senator cortez to talk about some of these issues. She is well versed. S she had spentsu her career fighting for issues andunderrer fighting for members of the representative communities. As joshua said, the firste latina ever in the un United States senate up until a few minutes ago, reportedly being considered for Vice President , to be running mate on joe bidens ticket. We are going to get back toted that and in this conversation. We are excited to dig deep in wo some of these issues. Heres how its going to work. Those of you that are zoom, y participating on zoom, you will see at the bottom of your screen and a cue and a button. Click on that to start typing in your questions. Keep an eye on the chat as well, because at a certain point, our staff will let you know whenwa youy are up to ask a question about halfway through the program, and once we get to you in your question, get ready because we will put you onlook s camera. T. Make sure you look your best. Senator cortez, welcome to thehe institute of politics and Public Service. Thank you. Excited to be here with all of you. I enjoyed our conversation. I want to talk a little bitnt about policy. I want to talk a little bitpo about pipeline. Liabout politics. Stalet us start tonight, actual, by talking about you. Tell us a little bit about your own path into Public Servicehe and what inspired you and what was for you personally to public p service . Re i probably did not realie it at theppreci time, but i camo appreciate it as i got older. Smy father was in local politics. B wmy mother and father both we activelyly and civicf it engagements. On the political side of it. Athis is a couple who weremarr. Struggling when they first got married. My father was a parking attendant at a hotel here andle my mother c was a bookkeeper fo a title company. They were always involved and engaged in making sure that around theing dinner table wews would talk about social issues,. Policy issues, what was happening in the community. At the time, as we got older, my parents made sure that my sister and i would graduate from college. My of household, it wasnt aou question of if we were a going l college. Itege was no, you willuate, then decide what you want to do. Continuedw up, my father continued and mother continued to grow in their professions. Wemy father went on to be coun commissioner when i was younger here and clark county for about 16 years. That really was an opening form for both me and my sister toment understand, what it means for good government. What it means to give back in your community. What itto means to listen to yh neighbors and community membersg of the challenges that they aree facing. Th yhowou working together, youn solve those entproblems. He went on to be as a presidency manyy of youy of know, that tag, what happens in vegas states in vegas. That was part of hisste marketig team. He was the president ceo. Not only is it a Success Story when i talk about my father. He was an american who grew up s at a young age was brought to las vegas by his parents. My grandmother, Mexican American woman was born and raised in los cruises. Iraqs the real grand as a young man coming to this grandfb country served as a military and became the United Statesit s citizen. It really was a story, tryingy e to come in a country, work hard. Worked hard rules so your family could succeed. That is what my siste parents d. So my sister and i could succeed. All the while, my father never forgot where he came wefrom, ad myem g mother as well. Hend i helped them get their. That is what my sister and i learned growing up. Even though i thought it, iou. Will be honest with you, i graduated from the university and real. I sch went on to law school. It felt natural for me to get back into Public Policy, the legal aspects of it and being involved in the community. I believe in good government. I believe in working with onepr another to solve problems. Othat is why i do what i dolleg today. If e, thyou would ask me when i, in college, where do you think to be, i would say no. But it was natural afterwards. Thats why, i truly believe why i do what i do today, its because i saw grew up in it witi parents. I saw the benefits of it. That ishat my passion and that s what motivates me, its solvingn problems in the community. Figuring out how you can work on something together. Ll i think we all come togetherb figure out where we can focus on Public Policy that suits all of us and that we come together inrough that process, working together through compromise. That is a little bit about my background and why do what i do today. I will come back to parts of your background later in the conversation. Just historic, but you haveform really used your platform to fig fight for a diversity and i underrepresented communities on a whole. I know you are also softball why player. Why does it matter to have more diversity in Public Policy and Public Service . Im it is so important and hers is why. We are going to pass laws andhe in this country that really address issues we are all dealing with,ems or trying to t solve problems that we are dealing with, then we need thate diversity around the table when we are making those decisions, when we are cracking that for those laws. Otherwise, people will be left out. Thats what it means to me. That is why i realized myhistor. Election was historic and that is great to make mos history, bt to me theeno most important para because they can be at the table, a voice at the table at the kn seat, addressing legislation that i know will impactct people in my community and at the same time, part of my th responsibility is opening door even wider and bringing more people through it diversity. It really is it starts with we are going to pass laws, if were going tot focus on Public Policy that impacts alled of us, then we neo to have thatse diversity in the room, making those decisions. It is very simple. This is what i have always felt working in government is, if we are actuallyyby going to do rigt by our constituents whileen working int, government, the rey government and the people that work in government should really mirror the constituents that they represent, becausend that way you understand the issues. Youyou can understand about what theyre dealing brwith and brig those issues to the table when you are trying to finds solutions. Letbout me say what is crazy abi all of this. When i got to the senate, you can probably count with two hands, about 20 or 22 men women overhist 200 year history of the senate, United States senate, there were only 50 women in the United States senate, the i know this because i was number 50. This is why this is so crazy,hat this idea that people are passingsla laws and legislation and it is an elite group that are trying to address issues that matters to me as a woman,n, bu also to so many communities of color wo, so many of our being communities that are beingpect m discriminated against. T. How dot we expect them to making address those issues unless we are there in the room making those decisions . That to me is what this is all about. It is making sure we aret respos opening that door. Responsibilitytat sure we keep bringing people with us and bring that cs diversity. The covid crisis is maybe one of the most importantof timely examples of this. We have seen data of howes, minority communities of color dispropo are disproportionately affected, not just onso t the public healh side, but on the economic side. Thewe put a spotlight on the structural disparities, both in health care and economic, with communities of color. Can you talk about that a little bit . Reabout the real policy challenges there. And what being of women of color, what perspective you bring to that conversation, if you figure out how to moveart os forward . Part of it starts with the data you just talked about. Now we have the data. Now we know. But we did not have the data, initially. We did not actually ask for that data. We did not demand that demographic, whatever it is, that we collected from the very beginning. Federal government does do not o enough of collection of that type of data to be specific, so that we can ensure that we are bringing resources to everyone equally. That is the challengeethe stillt the federal level. Ourincluding and some of our se level governments as well. Parti we know now during this pandemic, nevada is a beautifully diverse state. A third of the population are latinos. They are one of theg p fastestgrowing Asian AmericanPacific Island or population. Still a strong and robuston. American population. We havegho over 23 communities throughout the state. It is just beautifully diverse. What i was seeing after talking with our state health cares experts, was that some members in the Minority Community were being hard hit by this pandemic, particularly what we would know now in nevada, the lip teen oh community was getting really hard hit. They were seeing more e lanumbes of covid19 diagnosis, not enough Health Care Access to that community. Not enough education to make sure thatsure the community mems what they can do to protect themselves. Ce so once we got that data, then s we can Work Together at the t statehe level, the local and federal ho level, to figure out how do we educate . Ee how do we getd the resources that we need to get to thoseto t hotspots and how to make sure we aret communicating . Particularly in our asianres a community and latino communities sometimes there is o a language barrier. You have to be able toake s make barriers to connecting and understanding and knock down those barriers to bring the resources into the communities. Notfor me, as somebody, not ony as a woman of color, coming from a mexicanric american fathr and my mothers italianic american,an but working in the communities, and realizing that the language barrier, realizing that the lack of accesscare, sometimes to health care, realizing the lack of access toe clean air, and sometimes clean water, and some of our they a neighborhoods are low income. Theyeych are challenged alreadyt we haveo to recognize that to bo able to then fight to get theust resources where they need to at go. Thbecause we have the data now o the federalca level, i have been col advocating a lot of us withth colleagues that we now ensure that the resources that we need to address this pandemic get into those communities. Howhere do we do that . We find local clinics. Cl wei find where there are local areas in southern nevada. Shop,there are a lot of latino s there where we can es tgo in educate themem and bring resources tore them and talk to them so that they are educated on these issues. I will tell you, every time we e think that we make one stepessig forward in addressing any type of discrimination, or a barrier or any t to getting access to health care, or any type of relief to somebody will comegh along and tried to take it away. T we had that happening right n literally. It t is stones me this many administration. We have fought so many years to di r down those barriers for discrimination around housing, health care, and uk shun, and rol now this administration has rolled back some of these now we regulations. See,now we see, unfortunately, e of the diseasier ability to discriminate. An example right now, just out today, where we know that under the Affordable Care act, the secretary of health and human services, in the middle of aew pandemic, the sites tori rewrit the regulation on the care act and rollback on some of the discriminatory laws that we put in place. Anti discriminatory laws that we certain place to protect the individuals. Weals have certain individuals w who will be discriminatedget against and not get the health care they need under the Affordable Health care act. Women, lgbtq, people of color, language barriers. That to me is why, when we fight to be at the table, we passed legislation, we have to be vigilant around it, to make sure that we are constantly talking about these issues. Even though you may pass a law that addresses some sort of i discrimination, on banking and housing where i sit because i try to eliminate rent and we housing issues. We t have to be vigilant because we have to be back there fighting. Reneoing there is this constantnging thou awareness of what is going on to ensure that we are bringing those resources to everyone. Just a reminder for those other from the Georgia Community and otherbm itcommunities, we can bn to submit your questions in thet q a tab at the bottom of your screen at any point during the g program. Feel free to do so. O. Conversation on education. Ame one other one i want to focusen onts, just given Current Events this criminal justice. Looking at the tragic death of georgeof floyd up in minnesota, or ahmaud arbery, very different circumstances but too where it took months for people to really pay tensions for what happened. In that case, the disparities once again, are tragically evident. Osetalk a little bit about somef those challenges on diversity and positions of power and Public Service and how tots address them. I think that is why it is soo importantim to bring diversity e all levels. I know is a prosecutor, one ofin the things that we looked in our statetorn, particularly as a attorney general was the state prison system. Why was there disproportionate shares shaof minorities or peope of . Color in prison systems . What was happening here and what can we do to bring change this . Theso we looked at the state lel of changing some of our laws to address what we were seeing,n t the disproportionate share of people of color in our prison system. Needs to be done. I think what we are seeing across the country is this have completely outrageous, you have a man of down color who can jogb the streeted or a woman sleeping in her bed is killed. W or what we just saw recently in minnesota with george floyd. It is outrageous. It requires and it mandates justice. At the same time, it also b mandatesa us all not to sit back and say, oh there it goes again. There it happened again. To demand change. We need a paradigm shift. Weange. Need this change. We need tooha recognize that it happening and figure out what we are going to do about it. Say and n we all collectively, o longer just sit back. We have to say and do and demand thatat change. Ice. Yes we want swift justice. We want to stop discrimination. Collbut we have got to work collectively at all levels to work it out. Fieldhink that is why for everybody who is watching, no matter what field you work in, you bring that with you. Angyou bring that sense of chan that sense of diversity, thatyou sense of justice with you. That will help make the change as well. I have always felt that way no matter what shot that i havehatu held. It is important that you carry y that responsibility with you and treat people equally with respect, tolerance, and you call it out when you see it. Have so much more to do. O. Natelp does not help when we just add this that we have a man in the white house that thinks is it is okay to discriminate and call people out, use hatefuloffh language in the highest office of the land. Tethere is no room for hate or discrimination in the white house, particularly from thedent president of the United States was supposed to represent the best of us, represent all of us. Is what we expect. That is what we demand. White i do not see that now in t white house. Tohang me, that change the elecn box in november quite honestly. Barack obamas election was historic. Racism did not go away. I am wondering if, there arety criticisms of him from the black community but it did not go far enough. I am wondering if that is an unfair criticism not just from them, but as a person of color, as a woman, do you think, do you feel undue pressure from communities you represent . Do you feel people are judgedore differently or that there are expecta Higher Expectations for you ina . Dealing with some of these thats challenges . That is a great question. Ti never looked at it from thate perspective, because the only thing i know that is true to me is that i am a woman, so have dealtue i with issues, it is the only issues i know how to deal with. For my perspective as a woman, Mexican American woman, Italian American women, and what ive had to deal with throughout my career. I th mywill say this, and this s what i say to so many people talk with them, with particularly when im talking to people of color. I do not know what it is like to stand in my shoes. You do not knowoes. What it is e to stand in mind. But if we stand together, we can be a force to make change. That to mee is what is it isli about. It is g,about listening, educatn understanding, education about around the issues that are impacting our communities. Example of you anan this. I worked my career around re Domestic Violence prevention, sex trafficking prevention,s reducing violence against women and children. H a woman, that what i to deal with around this issue, but i also know a man the that does not think aboa it from the perspective that i a do as a woman. I, as a woman, know that i am very cautious when im walking to myight car in the parking lot night, becausebein i have conces about being attacked or possibly raped or harassed. Amandas not had that samee perspective. As a woman, to educate , is t i do it with my husband and friend, to educate thatnder what it is like to be like init my shoes. Understand what i live with every day,an so that now they cn have together wei can work to make change. I think that is what it comes jm downs to. Tooftentimes we jump al