Janet Murguía
Encyclopedia
Janet Murguia is a prominent civil rights
leader in the United States. She grew up in Kansas City, Kansas
but now lives in Washington, D.C.
and works as a renowned advocate for the Latino
community. Both her twin sister Mary
and her elder brother Carlos
are federal judges.
as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of La Raza
(NCLR), the largest national Hispanic
civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. As President and CEO, Murguía often testifies before Congress about issues affecting the Latino community including education, health care, immigration reform, civil rights and the economy. In her role as a spokesperson for the organization, she is frequently interviewed by various news outlets and has appeared on many news programs.
Since 2005, Murguía has placed more emphasis on strengthening the relationship with NCLR’s network of nearly 300 community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve millions of people annually. The CBOs are essential to NCLR’s work because they provide crucial services to the community and bring attention to the needs of community members they serve.
She has also emphasized leveraging the growth in the Latino population throughout the United States into political power. NCLR and its partners helped register almost 200,000 new Hispanic voters during the 2008 election and continued their empowerment campaign during the 2010 midterm elections. With the help of other initiatives and partnerships, NCLR has also helped more than 1.5 million eligible immigrants apply for citizenship.
During her time as president of the organization, Murguía has worked with organizations such as the NAACP and the National Urban League to help strengthen the relationship between the African American and Latino communities.
Under Murguía’s direction, NCLR also brought back the NCLR ALMA Awards after a three year hiatus. NCLR created the ALMA Awards in 1995 as part of its strategy to promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry. Eva Longoria
of ABC’s Desperate Housewives
has previously hosted the show. Murguía served as one of the show’s executive producers.
Murguía currently serves as a board member of the Independent Sector, a coalition of leading nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, and is an executive committee member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. She also sits on the Board of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
(KU) as Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations. Murguía managed KU’s strategic planning and marketing efforts on four campuses.
Before joining KU, she served as deputy campaign manager and director of constituency outreach for the Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000 Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign where she was the primary liaison between former Vice President Gore and national constituency groups. She also served as a spokesperson for the campaign, working with radio, print, and TV media outlets.
Murguía served seven years as legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery
before working at the White House from 1994 to 2000. She eventually served as deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton
, providing strategic and legislative advice to the president. She also served as deputy director of legislative affairs where she was in charge of the legislative staff and acted as a senior White House liaison to Congress.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader in the United States. She grew up in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
but now lives in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and works as a renowned advocate for the Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
community. Both her twin sister Mary
Mary H. Murguia
Mary Helen Murguia is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.- Early life and education :...
and her elder brother Carlos
Carlos Murguia
Carlos Murguia is a United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.-Early life and education:...
are federal judges.
NCLR President and CEO
On January 1, 2005, Murguía replaced Raul YzaguirreRaul Yzaguirre
Raul Humberto Yzaguirre is an American civil rights activist. Currently a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he previously served as the president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza from 1974 to 2004. On November 30, 2009 he was nominated by President Barack H...
as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of La Raza
National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza is a non-profit and non-partisan advocacy group in the United States, focused on improving opportunities for Hispanics. It is sometimes confused with La Raza Unida...
(NCLR), the largest national Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. As President and CEO, Murguía often testifies before Congress about issues affecting the Latino community including education, health care, immigration reform, civil rights and the economy. In her role as a spokesperson for the organization, she is frequently interviewed by various news outlets and has appeared on many news programs.
Since 2005, Murguía has placed more emphasis on strengthening the relationship with NCLR’s network of nearly 300 community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve millions of people annually. The CBOs are essential to NCLR’s work because they provide crucial services to the community and bring attention to the needs of community members they serve.
She has also emphasized leveraging the growth in the Latino population throughout the United States into political power. NCLR and its partners helped register almost 200,000 new Hispanic voters during the 2008 election and continued their empowerment campaign during the 2010 midterm elections. With the help of other initiatives and partnerships, NCLR has also helped more than 1.5 million eligible immigrants apply for citizenship.
During her time as president of the organization, Murguía has worked with organizations such as the NAACP and the National Urban League to help strengthen the relationship between the African American and Latino communities.
Under Murguía’s direction, NCLR also brought back the NCLR ALMA Awards after a three year hiatus. NCLR created the ALMA Awards in 1995 as part of its strategy to promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry. Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
of ABC’s Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
has previously hosted the show. Murguía served as one of the show’s executive producers.
Murguía currently serves as a board member of the Independent Sector, a coalition of leading nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, and is an executive committee member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. She also sits on the Board of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
Past positions held
Janet Murguía has emerged as a key leader in the Latino community. In 2001, Murguía joined the University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
(KU) as Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations. Murguía managed KU’s strategic planning and marketing efforts on four campuses.
Before joining KU, she served as deputy campaign manager and director of constituency outreach for the Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000 Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign where she was the primary liaison between former Vice President Gore and national constituency groups. She also served as a spokesperson for the campaign, working with radio, print, and TV media outlets.
Murguía served seven years as legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery
Jim Slattery
James Charles Slattery is an American politician and was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator from Kansas.- Early life and career :...
before working at the White House from 1994 to 2000. She eventually served as deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, providing strategic and legislative advice to the president. She also served as deputy director of legislative affairs where she was in charge of the legislative staff and acted as a senior White House liaison to Congress.
Acknowledgments and honors
Murguía has been named to the following:- In 2007
- Poder magazine’s “The Poderosos 100”
- Latino Leaders magazine’s “101 Top Leaders of the Hispanic Community”
- Hispanic magazine’s “Powerful Latinos 2007”
- In 2006
- Washingtonian magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women in Washington”
- The NonProfit Times’ “Power and Influence Top 50” leaders
- People En Español’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics 2006”
- In 2005
- Finalist for Hispanic Business magazine’s “Woman of the Year Award”
- In 2004
- Hispanic magazine’s list of "100 Top Latinas"
- Hispanic Business magazine’s "100 Most Influential Hispanics"