Rodriguez-Mendoza, Amalia

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza has served as Travis County District Clerk since 1991. As District Clerk, she directs and manages the office responsible for keeping all records and carrying out all orders of the 13 district courts in Travis County in accordance with state law. Under her direction, Travis County was the first in the country to offer citizens the opportunity to complete the entire empanelment process online. In addition to her work as an elected government official, she has dedicated her efforts to civic and community organizations, especially those concerning Hispanic Americans and women.

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza was born February 17, 1946 in Del Rio, Texas. A resident of Austin since 1968, she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and a master’s of education degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She is divorced and has a daughter, Melyssa Mendoza.

In 1990, Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza was elected as Travis County District Clerk. At the time of the election, she was the first minority to serve as District Clerk in Travis County, and only the second Hispanic female elected to countywide office in Travis County. From 1982 to 1989, she served as Director of Voter Registration for Travis County. Ms. Mendoza-Rodriguez has held several other professional positions including Executive Director for Texas Service Employment Redevelopment Job Bank (1974-1981) and Project Coordinator for the Mexican-American Catholic Alliance (1972-1974), both in Austin, Texas.

In 1991, she was appointed, by then Governor Ann Richards, to a two-year term as the chair of the Governor’s Commission for Women, becoming the first Hispanic to serve in this capacity. The commission was charged with developing strategies to improve the health of women in Texas, including supporting research activities and monitoring state and federal legislation related to issues affecting women. Addressing women's issues, especially health, has always been an important cause for Ms. Rodriguez-Mendoza, who is a breast cancer survivor and lost her mother, Guadalupe Rodriguez, to the disease.

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza is the co-founder of the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas, the first statewide Hispanic women's organization and of Mexican American Business and Professional Women’s Association. She has also been involved with numerous other civic and community organizations in a leadership or board position, such as the Austin Museum of Art, the Austin Public Library Foundation, the Austin History Center, La Péna Cultural Arts Organization, and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Throughout her career, Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza, has been recognized for her many achievements and volunteer efforts. In 1995, she was selected to Leadership America and is an alumna of Leadership Texas and Leadership Austin. In 1992, she was the recipient of the Mary McCloud Bethune Award for Public Service by the Sojourner Trust Organization. In 1988, she was listed as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the U.S. by Hispanic Business Magazine. She was the 1979 recipient of the Outstanding Young Women of America Award and has been recognized by the Mexican American Business and Professional Women’s Association as Outstanding Mexican American Women. In 1977, she was elected as a delegate to the International Women’s Year Conference.

From the guide to the Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza Papers AR. 2002. 025., 1969-2000, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )