Guest Commissioners Hon. Rebecca Vigil-Giron Currently serving as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Rebecca Vigil-Giron is a leader of national stature in the area of election reform. She is the first Hispanic to serve as President of NASS. Established in 1904, the Association is the oldest organization of major public officials in the United States. As president of NASS she serves as a member of the United States Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) Standards Board and Board of Advisors, and is a leading architect in the national implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Congress appropriated $3.8 billion dollars for HAVA election reform to be distributed in every state of the nation. She is a member of the EAC’s Working Group for Statewide Database Voter Registration Systems. As former Chair of NASS’s Standing Committee on Elections and Voter Participation, she testified before the United States Congress as an advocate for the Help America Vote Act and has continued to support federal election reform legislation in appearances before national organizations throughout the country. She is the recipient of the prestigious “Excellence in Government Service Award” presented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). New Mexico Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron is an 11th generation New Mexican born and raised in Taos, New Mexico. As Secretary of State, she is second in line to succeed the office of Governor and has served as Acting Governor in the absence of the Governor and Lt. Governor during her term. She is the Chief Elections Officer in the state and the highest ranking elected Hispanic woman state official in the United States. She serves as an Ex-Officio Member of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Board and serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of State Governments. She is a member of the Council’s 21 st Century Foundation. Between her terms as Secretary of State, Vigil-Giron used her expertise in elections as a consultant for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Nicaragua, Equatorial Guinea, and the Dominican Republic. She served as a Member State Delegate with the United Nations in Angola, Africa’s presidential elections. In 1991 she was appointed Executive Director of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women. Elected in 1986 on a platform of election reform, during her first term, she was successful in breaking down restrictive voter registration requirements and established one of the most advanced voter registration and elections management systems in the nation. Her work to create online access to campaign reports in New Mexico earned her Common Cause of New Mexico’s 2004 “Working for the Best in Government Award”. She is an honorary board member of Girls. Inc. and a recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Annual Outstanding New Mexico Woman Award and many other state and national honors. Secretary Vigil-Giron holds a Bachelors Degree in French and Social Science from New Mexico Highlands University. She is a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Hon. Penny R. Willrich Penny L. Willrich was appointed to the Superior Court of Maricopa County in September 1999. She is currently assigned to the Family Department, having completed assignments in the Juvenile Department and Criminal Department. Professor Willrich served as a Superior Court Commissioner from 1995 to 1999 and a volunteer pro tem judge from 1991 to 1994. From 1994 to 1995, Professor Willrich was a sole practitioner in criminal, family, probate, small business, entertainment and juvenile law. From 1992 to 1994, she served as the Assistant Director of the Division of Children and Family Services for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. From 1987 to 1992, Professor Willrich was employed by Community Legal Services as a Managing Attorney, Domestic Violence Project Director and Litigation Director. From 1982 to 1987, Professor Willrich served as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Law Fellow, Staff Attorney and Managing Attorney for West Texas Legal Services in Fort Worth, Texas. Professor Willrich is licensed to practice law in Arizona and Texas. She is admitted to practice in the Federal District Courts of the Northern District of Texas and Phoenix and the 5 th and 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals. Professor Willrich received her Juris Doctorate from Antioch School of Law in 1982. She is a graduate of the University of Texas (Arlington) with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and History. In 2001, Professor Willrich was awarded a Master of Science Degree, summa cum laude in Community Psychology from Springfield College. The title of her thesis, written jointly with colleague Pamela M. Smith is Diversity Issues in Gilbert, Arizona: Effectiveness of Human Relations Commission for Resolving Human Rights Violations. Professor Willrich is currently enrolled in the Union Institute and University, seeking a Doctorate of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and her proposed dissertation title is: Qualifying voters under sanction of law: Social exclusion and the debate on felony disenfranchisement. Professor Willrich has received many honors and awards for her outstanding community service, service to the legal community and scholarship. Among them are: Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from Springfield College; the Presidential Citation from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education; Diamond and Pearl of the African Methodist Episcopal Women’s Auxiliary; Arizona Black Lawyers Trailblazer Award, NAACP Law Award; Outstanding African American Alumni – University of Texas, Arlington; 100 Black Men of Phoenix, Inc. Achievement in Law Award; State Bar of Arizona 100 Women and Minority Lawyers Award; Phenomenal Woman Award form the Arizona Association of Women for Change. Professor Willrich has over 20 years of teaching experience having taught for the Tarrant County Junior College, the University of Texas at Arlington, Maricopa County Community College, Benchmark Institute, the Arizona Judicial College, the State Bar of Arizona, Arizona State University College of Law, Springfield College-San Diego, the University of Phoenix and Phoenix International School of Law. Professor Willrich’s teaching expertise is in the areas of mediation, ethics and professionalism, legal research and writing, family law, juvenile justice, race and justice, trial advocacy skills, criminal courts systems, political science, history, and contracts. Ned Norris, Jr., Vice – Chair of the Tohono O’odham Nation representing the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona was established in 1952 to provide a united voice for tribal governments located in the State of Arizona to address common issues of concerns. On July 9, 1975, the council established a private, non-profit corporation, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.(ITCA), under the laws of the State of Arizona to promote Indian self-reliance through public policy development. ITCA provides an independent capacity to obtain, analyze and disseminate information vital to Indian community self-development. The members of ITCA are the highest elected tribal officials: tribal chairpersons, presidents and governors. These representatives are in the best position to have a comprehensive view of the conditions and needs of the Indian communities they represent. As a group, the tribal leaders represent governments that have a shared historical experience. Consequently, the tribes have a common governmental status as well as similar relationships with federal and state governments. ITCA is governed by a Board of Directors composed of: Presidents, First Vice President, Second Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer. The work of ITCA staff and consultants is carried out under the direction and supervision of John R. Lewis, Executive Director and Alberta C. Tippeconnic, Assistant Director. 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