Nydia Velázquez

In 1992 Nydia Velázquez became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress (Democrat, New York). Velázquez was an activist as a teenager in rural Puerto Rico and came to the U.S. to earn a master's degree in political science at New York University. She has taught university in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. As a U.S. Representative she has been outspoken about voter registration, health care, and family violence.