Lydia Guzman
Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Chicanos Por La Causa
Past employers are:
- Secretary of State’s Office – Director of Voter Outreach
- Southwest Voter Registration Education Project – Arizona Director
- Clean Elections Institute – Director of Outreach
- AZ Attorney General’s Office – Western Counties Education Coordinator
- SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Western Maricopa County Organizer
- Executive Director of Respect Respeto Hotline
Nonprofit affiliations
LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
- Immediate past Arizona State Director
- Former District 1 Director
- Former Chairman of National Immigration Committee under President Margaret Moran
- Former Civil Rights Chair, Arizona state LULAC Board
- Former National Commission for Women far western states. Commissioner representing CA, UT, NM, AZ, NV, WA and OR.
- National Immigration Chair under President Domingo Garcia and President Margaret Moran
- Woman of the Year recipient 2019. Have been a member of LULAC since late 1980’s – Plaintiff and
- was deposed in LULAC vs Jan Brewer (SB1070) case. I also brought LULAC to become plaintiff in
- Prop 200 (Proof of Citizenship/ID to vote)
Somos America Coalition – Co-founder and original officer, past president. This was a coalition of over 40 Arizona organizations ranging from student, faith, labor, non-profit, grass-roots, grass-tops and community leaders and elected officials. I held presidency for 4 years. During my presidency we were organizational plaintiff in the Meledres vs Arpaio racial profiling case and several others against Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office collecting evidence and collaborating with legal teams like MALDEF, ACLU, NILC and others.
Respect Respeto hotline – was used as a 911 for migrant community during SB1070 and MCSO immigration sweeps. The hotline is credited with the collection of evidence and plaintiffs for several civil rights lawsuits and resource for migrant community.
MALDEF - Alum of MALDEF leadership development program 2000 in Phoenix AZ
CHIRLA – Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, founding coalition member 1988
NALEO – Member, assisted their 1994 CA citizenship campaign helped process over 8,000 new citizens from 94-98
On Law Enforcement – LEA Relations - Boards Formerly community advisory with LAPD’s Rampart Division after Consent Decree with Dept of Justice Former SPEAR board member (Sheriff Penzone Executive Advisory Review) Former MCSO CAB member (CAB was court ordered by a Federal Judge) Currently Member newly created AZ Dept of Pubic Safety Community Advisory Board Currently Chairman Phoenix Police Hispanic Advisory Board Currently Citizen Member of the Phoenix Police Use Of Force Board Currently Citizen Member of the Phoenix Police Disciplinary Review Board
- Conducted training to Department of Homeland Security’s newly created Community Relations Officers in Dallas, TX on principals of community relations.
- About 2 yrs ago, by Col Milstead’ s invitation, had discussion with several LEA leaders and Gov. Ducey on building relationships with the community.
- Last year I spent some time at the AZ Post to discuss the importance of Community Advisory Boards
- Spoke at a national panel on this at ASU on 21 st Century Policing
- I’ve participated in the study on policing project
- Regular host of DHS’s CRCL roundtable discussion where we invite several LEA representatives to sit with community members.
- Maintain an open line of communication with FBI’s Civil Rights team and Dept Of Justice as issues of color of law, abuse of power and civil rights violations arise.
- Attended several civilians’ academies including MCSO just to get a better understanding of that agency’s operations.
Civic Engagement / Advocacy
While I worked as Dir. of Voter Outreach, created the system we now use to register voters over the internet. We became the first state in the nation to have totally paperless voter registration taking advantage of AZ’s advance record-keeping technology and the NVRA Motor Voter rules.
Census outreach community organizer for the 2000,2010 & 2020 Census. Member of AZ Governor’s Complete Count Committee and various other coalition complete count committees and created a grass roots committee to GOTC.
Participated, provided input and testified on the 2001, 2011 and will be involved in the 2021 redistricting hearings in Arizona working with community coalitions, MALDEF and VRA experts.
Prior to the Dept of Justice Preclearance Section being shut down, was on their list of community stake- holders that had to review and approve proposed maps or changes to Arizona Elections or voting material ARS 16
Help engage LULAC in Prop 200 lawsuit (Proof of citizenship to register to vote and ID at the polls). While at the Secretary of State, raised concerns over the lack of voter reg in state agencies to minority applicants of public benefits (Motor Voter Act) recently a lawsuit has been filed.
Testified on the reauthorization of the voting rights act in 2005 and 2010 during public hearings hosted by the National Lawyers Guild.
Provided testimony on DHS hearings – Objections of privatization of immigration detention facilities. www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/DHS%20HSAC%20PIDF%20Final%20Report.pdf
Host regular listening sessions with legislators and grass roots groups to discuss issues resulting in drafting various proposed legislations. Right now we’re working on a state legislative bill on uniform police reform measures and increasing the state unemployment insurance benefits.
Built coalition to protect the Affordable Care Act. Our advocacy helped late Sen. John McCain give his famous THUMBS DOWN vote that would’ve killed the ACA.
Helped build coalitions of faith leaders to use churches to receive Central American asylum-seekers that were released by ICE on OR, so that they would no longer be dropped off by ICE at the Greyhound Stations. Worked with ICE to develop schedule of drop offs to rotating participating churches.
After AZ’s SB1070, went to Utah to talk to state legislators, chamber leaders, law enforcement leaders and leaders of the Mormon Church and successfully stopped SB1070 like measures. Also created a new coalition of “Unlikely partners” to fight anti-immigrant legislation. It was effort was later called Bibles, Badges and Businesses, now used by the National Immigration Forum. But lots of it was born from Utah and during the conversations of the Utah Compact using the Arizona experience.
Recipient of various local and national awards and recognitions.