Keynote Speaker: Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor

Prior to her confirmation, Secretary Solis represented the 32nd Congressional District in California, where her priorities included expanding access to affordable health care, protecting the environment, and improving the lives of working families. A recognized leader on clean energy jobs, she authored the Green Jobs Act which provided funding for “green collar" job training for veterans, displaced workers, at risk youth, and individuals in families with incomes 200 percent above the federal poverty line. Solis was first elected to public office in 1985 as a member of the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees. She served in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1994, and in 1994 made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the California State Senate. As the chairwoman of the California Senate Industrial Relations Committee, she led the battle to increase the state's minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.75 an hour in 1996. She also authored a record seventeen state laws aimed at combating domestic violence.

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