Velázquez, Nydia, 1953-

VELÁZQUEZ, Nydia M., a Representative from New York; born in Yabucoa, P.R., March 28, 1953; B.A., University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, 1974; M.A., New York University, New York, N.Y., 1976; faculty, University of Puerto Rico, Humacao, P.R., 1976-1981; adjunct professor, Hunter College, City University of New York, N.Y., 1981-1983; staff, United States Representative Edolphus Towns of New York, 1983; member of the New York, N.Y., city council, 1984; national director, Migration Division Office, Puerto Rico department of labor and human resources, 1986-1989; director, department of Puerto Rican community affairs in the United States for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 1989-1992; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the fourteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-present); chair, Committee on Small Business (One Hundred Tenth, One Hundred Eleventh, One Hundred Sixteenth, and One Hundred Seventeenth Congresses).

<p>Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (born March 28, 1953) is a politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York, Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. Her district, in New York City, was numbered the 12th district from 1993 to 2013 and has been numbered the 7th district since 2013. Velázquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the United States Congress.</p>

<p>Velázquez was born in the town of Limones in the municipality of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on March 28, 1953. She grew up in Yabucoa in a small house on the Río Limones. Her father, Benito Velázquez Rodríguez, was a poor worker in the sugarcane fields who became a self-taught political activist and the founder of a local political party. Political conversations at the dinner table focused on workers' rights. Her mother was Carmen Luisa Serrano Medina. She was one of nine siblings.</p>

Velázquez attended public schools and skipped three grades as a child. She became the first in her family to graduate from high school. She became a student at University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras at age 16. In 1974, she received a B.A. degree in political science, magna cum laude, and became a teacher. In college, Velázquez supported Puerto Rican independence; by the time she ran for Congress in 1992, Velázquez no longer addressed the issue, saying that it must be left up to the Puerto Rican people.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez is currently serving as Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District. In the 117th Congress, she is the Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.</p>

<p>She has made history several times during her tenure in Congress. In 1992, she was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In February 1998, she was named Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee, making her the first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Member of a full House committee. Most recently, in 2006, she was named Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, making her the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee.</p>

<p>Given these achievements, her roots are humble. She was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico - a small town of sugar-cane fields - in 1953, and was one of nine children. Velázquez started school early, skipped several grades, and became the first person in her family to receive a college diploma. At the age of 16, she entered the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. She graduated magna cum laude in 1974 with a degree in political science. After earning a master’s degree on scholarship from N.Y.U., Velázquez taught Puerto Rican studies at CUNY’s Hunter College in 1981.</p>