CHSA Statement Honoring Bianca Ortiz Wertheim
As She Departs From Capitol Hill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2020
Celia Olivas, CHSA Communications Director: (209) 981-9141, [email protected]
Washington, D.C. — Today the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association released the following statement honoring Bianca Ortiz Wertheim, the second-ever Senate Latina Chief of Staff and longtime CHSA member, as she departs from Capitol Hill.
“The Congressional Hispanic Staff Association congratulates Bianca Ortiz Wertheim on her appointment by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to be the Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. In her new capacity as Secretary, Bianca will oversee the Department’s mission to protect, prevent, mitigate, and recover from emergencies of all forms facing the state.
“In 2015, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) appointed Bianca as his Chief of Staff, marking only the second time in Senate history that a Latina has achieved this distinction. Bianca oversaw the Senator’s legislative and communication priorities, staff operations, and overall strategy. Throughout the years, Bianca invested her time and energy into CHSA’s mission by leveraging her voice to increase staff diversity and Latino representation on Capitol Hill. In 2019, Bianca served as the Chair of the inaugural CHSA Advisory Committee and led sixteen senior staff in advising the CHSA Board on matters big and small. Her patience, compassion, and perpetual willingness to help will make her absence felt as she departs the Hill.
“The Congressional Hispanic Staff Association thanks Bianca for her service to CHSA and wishes her success in her new role. She will be deeply missed by the members of our organization.”
About Bianca: Bianca has over 20 years of experience working in political, policy and government organizations. She has served as an adviser, strategist and manager.
Originally from Nambé, a small town north of Santa Fe, NM, Bianca started in New Mexico politics and community organizing. She received her Bachelors of Arts from the University of Oklahoma and her MBA from the University of New Mexico, Anderson School of Management.
Continuing her interest in public policy and community organizing, Bianca served as a past president of MANA de Albuquerque. She worked with the American Cancer Society as Director of Government Relations for New Mexico. She served in New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s Administration as Director of Cabinet, worked for Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez as his Legislative Affairs Representative and later as his Chief of Staff.
Bianca joined the Office of U.S. Senator Tom Udall (NM) in 2009 as his State Director. In 2015, Bianca became the senator’s Chief of Staff, making her the second Latina to serve as a Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate. She currently serves as an honorary co-host of the Bipartisan Chiefs of Staff Foreign Affairs Study Group, and was the 2019 Congressional Hispanic Staff Association (CHSA) Advisory Committee Chair and current CHSA member.
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