Episode 11 - Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney
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Peter and Tania speak to Phyllis former member of the Washington House of Representative.
Representative Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney was appointed to the Washington State Legislature in January 1997 and retired in 2012. She served sixteen years as a member of the House of Representatives. She chaired the House Committee on Community, Economic Development, and Trade and was a member of the General Government Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. She was also the chaired of the House Higher Education Committee for six years.
In addition, she served as a member of the House and Senate Joint Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, as well as the Governor’s Council on Aerospace and the Washington Economic Development Commission. In both her professional and legislative activities, Representative Gutiérrez Kenney has consistently addressed issues concerning health, education, affordable housing, human rights, civil rights, family-wage jobs, economic development, and transportation.Representative Gutiérrez Kenney began her career as a community activist in the Yakima Valley and in the Tri-Cities, where she was the co-founder of the Washington State Migrant Child Care Centers, the Educational Institute for Rural Families, and the Farm Workers Clinics. She was also instrumental in establishing statewide Child Care and Early Childhood Education Teacher Training Programs.
Education has always been a top priority for Representative Gutiérrez Kenney. During her legislative career, she has sponsored legislation to create scholarships to expand access to college for low-income and minority student. In addition, she has sponsored legislation creating the I-BEST and Opportunity Grants programs that have been recognized at both the local and national levels. The Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program teaches students basic skills while allowing them to earn credit toward a certificate or degree. The Opportunity Grant program helps low-income adults train for high-wage, high-demand careers.
Representative Gutiérrez Kenney is also a proponent for health care building safe and healthy communities. She has sponsored legislation requiring insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for colorectal cancer screening. Additionally, she was instrumental in providing the funding for a colorectal cancer screening program targeting the low-income population of Washington. She also created the Building Communities Fund, which provides communities with state matching grants to help fund community construction projects. She has been a strong advocate for funding to provide farmworker housing, spurring economic development throughout the state while also providing clean, safe housing for farmworker families in rural Washington.