Hilda L. Solis, the daughter of immigrant parents from Nicaragua and Mexico, is a longtime advocate for workers’ rights, better wages, and workplace safety.
Her advocacy for green-collar jobs and work in environmental justice earned her a feature on the cover of Hispanic Engineer magazine’s 2010 Hispanic Heritage Month issue.
The magazine also included excerpts from its inaugural issue featuring Dr. Mario Molina, who was one of the first scientists to isolate the chemical reactions responsible for the hole in the Ozone layer.
Solis was the United States Secretary of Labor. She made history as the first Latina to lead a permanent cabinet office when President Barack Obama appointed her Secretary of Labor in 2009.
In the interview with Hispanic Engineer magazine, Solis emphasized the labor department’s plans to provide training for green jobs in clean and renewable energy.
She also shared positive news for students and professionals in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce.
Solis spoke about the growth expected in industries such as healthcare, information technology, advanced manufacturing, green jobs, and construction.
She highlighted her own experience and encouraged students to pursue careers in STEM fields.
One of Solis’s significant legislative achievements was enacting a bill that provided funding for “green collar” training for veterans, displaced workers, at-risk youth, and low-income families.
She has a long history of public service and was elected to the board of trustees of California’s Rio Hondo Community College in 1985.
Later, she served in the California State Assembly and in 1994, she became the first Latina elected to the California Senate.
Today, Solis represents the First Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County.
The first in her family to attend college at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, her public service has extended to various roles, including serving in both chambers of the California State Legislature, and the House of Representatives.
She also became the first woman to win the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her work in environmental justice.
As the County Supervisor for the First District, Solis has worked to combat homelessness, allocate funding for affordable housing, invest in communities without green space, expand open and recreational park space, and protect water quality.
She has been an advocate for communities facing environmental injustices and has championed initiatives to clean up poisonous lead in homes and fund workforce and job training programs for disadvantaged young people.
Additionally, she has authored more than 40 motions defending immigrant communities.
I have dedicated my career to lifting those who have been marginalized. Talent is distributed equally across communities, but opportunity is most certainly not! There is so much untapped talent in under-resourced communities. (6/7)
— Hilda Solis (@HildaSolis) June 30, 2023
IBM announced this week that its apprenticeship program has earned…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with…
Brown and Caldwell, a leading environmental engineering and construction firm,…
