Monday, December 27, 2010

JoCasta Zamarippa, Wisconsin's First Latina Legislator


Link to December 26 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, "Zamarripa ready to take office".

Excerpt: Born and raised on the city's south side, Zamarripa, 34, is known as Joey to her friends. She's single and lives in a south side home owned by her grandmother, a former migrant farm worker from Texas who came to Wisconsin to pick crops but settled here.

The oldest of four children, Zamarripa was raised by a single mom who worked in food service and restaurants all her life.

Zamarripa attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she was a film major and received a bachelor of fine arts degree.

After graduating she worked for the Southside Organizing Committee as a part-time organizer and office manager. In 2005 she worked for Fair Wisconsin and its campaign opposing the 2006 amendment to the state Constitution recognizing marriage as being between one man and one woman. She joined Planned Parenthood in 2007 in its public affairs office. When she was laid off in 2008, she worked on Milwaukee's Paid Sick Days campaign, then returned to Planned Parenthood where she is an educator and community outreach coordinator. She plans to leave that job at the end of the year.

"I feel I've been doing public service since I graduated from college," she says. "I think it was a natural progression to become a candidate.
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