Debbie Mucarsel-Powell made history as the first South American-born Member of Congress that flipped a diverse, majority-minority South Florida district in 2018. With over 20 years of experience providing strategic, policy, fiscal, fundraising, and operational leadership in both the public and non-profit sectors, Debbie is a national leader with a proven track record of success in non-profits, higher education, and Congress. Before being elected to Congress in 2018, Ruth’s List recruited Debbie to run as a pro-choice Democratic candidate in one of the highest profile races for State Senate against a far-right Republican woman who was set to become the Speaker pro temp. Although she did not win this race, Debbie was recognized as a strategic campaigner who raised over $1.2 million in only 3 months and became a strong democratic voice in Florida. Emily’s List was the first to endorse Debbie in her run for Congress against a two-term well known Republican incumbent, which helped her win one of the most competitive seats in the country. As the first and only Latina democrat to ever represent a Congressional district in Florida, she led the charge to pass legislation that secured Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, introduced and passed a bill that sent $400M in aid to the Venezuelan people and neighboring countries, brought $200M for Everglades restoration to Florida and authored legislation to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with essential funding to partner with local organizations and extend Medicare coverage for COVID treatment. A tireless advocate for the Hispanic community and women and girls worldwide, she served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Women’sTask Force and launched the first Latina Equal Pay forum which included Rep. Veronica Escobar, Rep. Sylvia Garcia and Maria Cardona. She now serves as a Board Member for Ruth’s List Miami and helps recruit and train women to run for local and statewide office. Debbie continues to be a strong advocate for issues important to her and her community and was tapped to be a Senior Advisor to the Giffords to work on ending the gun violence epidemic that plagues this nation. She was appointed by President Biden to serve as Special Advisor for the Summit of the Americas 2022 leading the efforts to protect Democracy in Latin America and combating misinformation across the Hemisphere. A strong voice for Latinos in Florida and across the country, Debbie helps organizations understand Latino outreach through volunteer work with Mi Vecino, BOLD PAC, FDP and others. A fluent Spanish speaker, Debbie appears as an analyst and commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Telemundo, NBC6, Univision, CBS 4, Newsweek and several other Spanish and English media outlets. Debbie lives in Miami with her husband Robert, her two children Jude and Siena and their furry family members Kali, Spike and Ashanti the bunny.