Gracia M. Hillman is the former Vice President for External Affairs at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She grew up in New England, USA. She is the daughter of the late Maria DaGraca Hillman and the late George Hillman. She has two brothers, George Hillman, Jr. and Robert W. Hillman. Ms. Hillman is of Cape Verdean descent.
She was formerly a commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission from 2003 to 2010. She was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2003 and confirmed by unanimous consent of the United States Senate on December 9, 2003 to serve a two-year term on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Hillman served as Chair of the EAC in 2005, after serving as the Agency's first Vice Chair in 2004. She resigned on December 10, 2010 after reaching the two-term limit for commissioners.
In her career, Commissioner Hillman has handled both domestic and international issues. Her areas of expertise include nonprofit management, public policy and program development, political services, the interests and rights of women and minorities, community affairs and election related matters, including voting rights.
She has traveled extensively throughout the United States meeting with national and local groups and businesses; speaking at conferences, conventions and other public forums; and conducting a variety of training and development seminars. Through her international work, Commissioner Hillman traveled in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe. She conducted nonpartisan political training in Haiti and Kenya, and participated in UN sponsored conferences in Vienna, Beijing and at the United Nations in New York.
Prior to 2003, Hillman served as President and CEO of WorldSpace Foundation, a nonprofit organization that uses cutting edge digital satellite technology to deliver audio and multimedia education programs to Africa and Asia. She also served the U.S. Department of State as its first Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues where she was responsible for developing agency-wide strategies to ensure that U.S. foreign policy promoted and protected women’s rights. She was the State Department’s principal liaison with domestic nongovernmental organizations that are concerned with international women’s rights and the role of women in development. In 1995, Hillman was a member of the official U.S. delegation to the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.
Her work experience includes having served as Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the U.S., the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the National Coalition on Black Voter Participation, which sponsored the popular nonpartisan grassroots program, Operation Big Vote. She also held positions as Executive Consultant to the Council on Foundations and Coordinator of the Voter Law Policy Project for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Throughout the 1980s, Hillman championed many nonpartisan and bi-partisan efforts to ensure open access to the voting process for all citizens and the continued voting rights of minority Americans, including her work on the historic 25-year extension of the national Voting Rights Act. Her political experiences include paid and volunteer work on numerous local, statewide and national campaigns, including having served as a Senior Advisor with responsibility for Congressional and constituent relations for the 1988 Dukakis for President Campaign.
Hillman began her longtime commitment to public service and the nonprofit sector in 1970, when she worked for a community action program in her home state of Massachusetts. She also held management positions in Massachusetts State government. She has served on the boards and advisory committees of numerous local and national organizations concerned with public service, citizen participation and the development of public policy. Hillman was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board in 2015.
Her writings include “Toward A More Perfect Union: The Congressional Black Caucus & Voting Rights,” and “E-Voting and Democracy in America.”
Hillman has one son from her former marriage and currently resides in Washington, DC.
The League of Women Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for voting rights. In addition, the LWV works with partners that share its positions and supports a variety of progressive public policy positions, including campaign finance reform, health care reform, gun control and LGBT+ rights.
Betty Louise McCollummə-KOL-əm is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 4th congressional district, serving since 2001. She is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). McCollum's district centers on St. Paul, Minnesota's capital city. She is the second woman elected to Congress from Minnesota. McCollum became the dean of Minnesota's congressional delegation in 2021.
Susan Carol Alpert Davis is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for California's 49th congressional district for one term and California's 53rd congressional district for nine terms from 2001 to 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002, or HAVA, is a United States federal law which passed in the House 357-48 and 92–2 in the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002. The bill was drafted in reaction to the controversy surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election, when almost two million ballots were disqualified because they registered multiple votes or no votes when run through vote-counting machines.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.
Norvell Kay Granger is an American Republican politician from the U.S. state of Texas serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 12th congressional district since 1997. She has chaired the United States House Committee on Appropriations since 2023.
Carolyn Jane Maloney is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 12th congressional district from 2013 to 2023, and for New York's 14th congressional district from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City in Queens, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as well as Roosevelt Island. A member of the Democratic Party, Maloney ran for reelection in 2022 but lost the primary to 10th district incumbent Jerry Nadler after redistricting drew them both into the 12th district.
Christopher Andrew Coons is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Delaware since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Coons served as the county executive of New Castle County from 2005 to 2010.
Jehmu Greene is an American television commentator, social justice advocate, and political and media strategist. She was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Austin, Texas. The daughter of Liberian immigrants, Greene is a first generation American.
Karen K. Narasaki is an American civil rights leader and human rights activist. She most recently served as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights after President Barack Obama appointed her in July 2014. She is the former president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is a Washington, D.C.-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan, civil rights organization whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through advocacy, public policy, public education and litigation. Prior to her post at AAJC, she served as the Washington, D.C. representative to the Japanese American Citizens League. Narasaki has also served as the chairperson of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and as the chairwoman of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition.
Elections in California are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. In California, regular elections are held every even year ; however, some seats have terms of office that are longer than two years, so not every seat is on the ballot in every election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Recall elections can also be held. Additionally, statewide initiatives, legislative referrals and referendums may be on the ballot.
Lynn Haag Jenkins is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district, in office from 2009 to 2019. She previously served as Kansas State Treasurer from 2003 to 2008, in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2000 and the Kansas Senate from 2000 to 2002. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served since 2011 as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district, which includes most of the Black Belt, as well as most of the predominantly black portions of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.
Polly Baca is an American politician who served as Chair of the Democratic Caucus of the Colorado House of Representatives (1976–79), being the first woman to hold that office and the first Hispanic woman elected to the Colorado State Senate and in the House and Senate of a state Legislature.
Valerie Anne Hoyle is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district since 2023. Until 2023, she served as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).
Nanette Díaz Barragán is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 44th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a Hermosa Beach City councilmember from 2013 to 2015.
Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the U.S. representative for Nevada's 3rd congressional district from 2017 to 2019.
Carmen Delgado Votaw was a civil rights pioneer, a public servant, an author, and community leader. She studied at the University of Puerto Rico and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor of arts in international studies. She was subsequently awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities by Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the three U.S. representatives from the state of Nebraska, one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) is a Hispanic nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) leadership development organization established in 1978 by organizing members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and is headquartered in Washington D.C.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
