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May 23, 2013

Swift Senate Confirmation Urged for President Obama's Highly-Qualified Nominee to Lead the Office of Personnel Management

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 34 preeminent Hispanic organizations in the United States, praised President Barack Obama's nomination of Katherine Archuleta to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Archuleta has been a strong voice for the Latino community in her career of public service which has included roles in the U.S. Departments of Labor, Transportation, and Energy, as well as with the City of Denver. She also served as the National Political Director of President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

"President Obama has made a fantastic choice in selecting Katherine Archuleta to lead the Office of Personnel Management. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated great leadership and effective advocacy for our community and nation. We urge the Senate to move forward swiftly in confirming her to this critical post and look forward to working with her to ensure that the federal government's workforce efficiently serves the American people and reflects our great diversity," said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

"Katherine Archuleta is an outstanding public servant and extremely well qualified for the position of Director of the Office of Personnel Management,” stated NHLA Vice Chair and LULAC Executive Director Brent Wilkes. “We believe that Ms. Archuleta is an excellent choice to carry out President Obama’s goals of having a federal workforce that is efficient, effective and reflects the American population it serves."

"We applaud President Obama on nominating Katherine Archuleta - a leader for diversity for public service for all our communities," said Elena Rios, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association.

"The appointment of Katherine Archuleta is an inspired and critical step toward a federal workforce that reflects the diversity and strength of the United States at all levels of decision making and service," said Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF.

"Katherine Archuleta is an ideal candidate for the position as Director of OPM. She is a proven leader and innovator. Her strong history in outreach and as an advocate for diversity and inclusion will greatly contribute to building a Federal workforce that truly reflects the face of America. President Obama is to be congratulated for a wise decision," said Alma Morales Riojas, President and CEO of MANA, A National Latina Organization.

“Katherine Archuleta is an exceptional candidate for OPM due to her breadth and depth of experience as a public servant and helping shape policy,” said Peter M. Reyes, Jr., Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) President. “In addition to continuing to advance the role of OPM, we believe that Ms. Archuleta’s past work focusing on the Latina community and minority communities is critical to continuing to advance the recruitment and retention of Hispanics in the federal government.”

"NACOPRW wholeheartedly supports the nomination of Katherine Archuleta as Director of OPM," said Vilma Colom, National President of the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women. "Ms. Archuleta is highly qualified for this position and we are confident that she will successfully implement an aggressive agenda for addressing the historical imbalances in the composition of the Federal workforce."

"We applaud Katherine Archuleta on her nomination to serve as the first Latina Director of the Office of Personnel Management,” stated Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director. “Given her extensive experience and deep commitment to working within diverse communities, we have no doubt that she will succeed in recruiting individuals with a wealth of talent and expertise to serve in the workforce of the federal government."

"Katherine Archuleta is uniquely suited to run the Office of Personnel Management. Throughout her career, she has brought together broad coalitions to tackle some of America's greatest challenges. This experience will suit her well for the immense task of building a federal workforce that looks like the country it serves. Under her leadership, we hope to see an increasingly diverse and inclusive Federal workforce,” said Javier Palomarez, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO.

"President Obama’s nomination of Katherine Archuleta to head the Office of Personal Management is an excellent choice. She has demonstrated superior leadership especially working in the Hispanic community. With the Hispanic population the most underrepresented segment in Federal Government she will make a real difference in righting this disparity. We urge the Senate to expeditiously confirm her nomination," said Ignacio Salazar, President and CEO, SER Jobs for Progress National Inc.

NHLA has long advocated for the increased representation of Latinos in the federal government. While Latinos are nearly 17 percent of the U.S. population, they are just 8 percent of the federal career workforce and as little as 3 percent of the employees in some federal agencies according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Eleventh Annual Report on Hispanic Employment in the Federal Government.

To do its part in helping strengthen the political pipeline, NHLA has launched its presidential appointments program to identify and support Latino candidates pursuing appointments and careers in the federal government. For more information, visit LatinoAppointments.org.

Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: | Melody Gonzales | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 | | Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

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American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Casa de Esperanza | Cuban American National Council | Farmworkers Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute