Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor broke boundaries by becoming the first Latina, and the third woman, to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the country. Sotomayor was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up in the Bronxdale-Houses, a public housing project in the Bronx. Through perseverance and determination, she received degrees from Princeton University and Yale Law School. As a Supreme Court Justice she has ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act and legalize same-sex marriage.
I was probably one of three Latinas at the Smithsonian. That’s not good, you know. I formed part of a Latino working committee. . . So, we started pushing, pushing for curators being hired, pushing for directors to be Latino.
Olivia Cadaval, Ethnographer and Folklorist
Latinas Making History
Olivia Cadaval is a Latina ethnographer and former program curator for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Cadaval has made history here at the Smithsonian as a Latina trailblazer.
