Distinguished Speaker 2022
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Former U.S. Representative from Florida's 26th Congressional District (2019-2021)
George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management Fellow
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell made history as the first South American-born Member of Congress that flipped a diverse, majority-minority South Florida district in 2018. She was recently appointed by President Biden to serve as a special advisor for this summer’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
With over 20 years of experience providing strategic, policy, fiscal, fundraising, and operational leadership in both the public and non-profit sectors, Debbie is a national leader with a proven track record of success in non-profits, higher education, and Congress.
As the first and only Latina democrat to ever represent a Congressional district in Florida, she led the charge to pass legislation that secured Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, introduced and passed a bill that sent $400M in aid to the Venezuelan people and neighboring countries, brought $200M for Everglades restoration to Florida, authored legislation to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with essential funding to partner with local organizations to conduct mobile COVID-19 testing and to extend Medicare coverage for COVID treatment.
A tireless advocate for the Hispanic community and women and girls worldwide, she served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Women’s Task Force and launched the first Latina Equal Pay forum which included Rep. Veronica Escobar, Rep. Sylvia Garcia and Maria Cardona. She now serves as a Board Member for Ruth’s List Miami and helps recruit and train women to run for local and statewide office.
Known as a prolific fundraiser with more than two decades of fundraising experience, Debbie broke records during a tough re-election in 2020 having the best fundraising quarter for any Florida congressional candidate in history. Prior to her entry into politics, she was honored by the South Florida Business Journal as one of the Forty under Forty recipients for achievements in the South Florida community, which included raising $100 million for the FIU Wertheim College of Medicine.
Debbie continues to be a strong advocate for issues important to her and her community and was tapped to be a Senior Advisor to the Giffords to work on ending the gun violence epidemic that plagues this nation. She continues to appear as an analyst and commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Telemundo, Univision, CBS 4, Newsweek and several other Spanish and English media outlets.
Debbie lives in Miami with her husband Robert, her two children Jude and Siena and their furry family members Kali, Spike and Ashanti the bunny.
George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management Fellow