This Women’s History Month at IGNITE, we’ll be spotlighting several powerful women in our community. Kicking us off is Cecilia Silva, a passionate and seasoned IGNITE alum who currently works for ReflectUS to increase representation in politics.
I grew up viewing my mom as my role model; she is a passionate advocate for her loved ones and goes above and beyond to help others. In the political realm, a close role model and mentor of mine is Whitney Thomas, the Director of Major Giving for IGNITE. I used to intern for Whitney, and she taught me how to navigate this crazy world of politics in Texas. As a first generation Latina with no political ties, she played an essential role in building my political ambition. Whitney encouraged me to run for office on my college campus, start an IGNITE chapter, and seek out many other leadership opportunities to help build my political toolkit. Without Whitney and her guidance, I would still be sitting on the sidelines, and I’m thankful for everything she does for the next generation of women leaders.
This month is a special cause to celebrate and highlight the amazing women that I’ve had the privilege to work with and get to know over the years. Each year during this month, I reflect on the friendships and organizations that I’ve made and discovered, admiring them all over again. We, as women, often struggle with recognizing our accomplishments and progress. This time is an opportunity to highlight my own accomplishments and recognize the other women in my life.
IGNITE taught me the importance of surrounding myself with like-minded women who are eager to serve and the large role we can play in supporting each other's endeavors. When I first joined IGNITE in 2017, I was eager to get to know the women who would run for office and help get them elected. It wasn’t until my time spent with Whitney and Lizzie Robbins that I learned I had political power within myself as well. Through the workshops and opportunities that IGNITE presented me with, I was able to begin building my capacity to run for office on my campus and get elected as the first Latina to serve as Speaker of the Senate at the University of Texas at Arlington. I’ve also worked with various other nonprofits, grassroots organizations, candidates, and elected officials that IGNITE introduced me to, and I’m forever thankful for these connections.
ReflectUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of the nine leading women’s representation organizations working to increase the number of women in office and achieve equal representation across the racial, ideological, ethnic, and geographic spectrum. We are the only national coalition bringing together women across the political aisle into one network. Each Coalition member brings a unique set of expertise and experience to provide a holistic, broad-based approach to achieving greater gender representation in political leadership. With combined and extensive expertise, ReflectUS aims to have a government that reflects all of its people.
The Coalition members are: Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), Empowered Women, Higher Heights, IGNITE National, LatinasRepresent, Represent Women, She Should Run, VoteRunLead, and Women’s Public Leadership Network.
I’m a big fan of Shonda Rhimes and really resonated with her memoir which helped change my way of thinking. In her book, “Year of Yes,” Shonda writes “When you are an F.O.D. [First, Only, Different], you are saddled with that burden of extra responsibility — whether you want it or not.” And I agree with her statement 100%. Being the first in my family to graduate high school, attend college, and work in politics or government has presented me with many challenges. I often felt lost in the process and assumed the loneliness just came with being the first. But being the first doesn’t mean you have to struggle alone. My advice to any other woman seeking a career in public service, politics, government, or any uncharted area is to find your support system. Getting involved with organizations like the ReflectUS Coalition, IGNITE, or a sorority of strong women is essential to building a strong network and will help you be successful in achieving your goals. The women who marched in 1970 at the Women’s March for Equality really meant what they said when they chanted “Sisterhood is powerful.”
We have to remind ourselves that we belong and have a right to not only sit at the table, but lead the conversations being discussed at the table. We as women should remind ourselves that the correlation between how the problem is handled depends on how personal we make the problem. In my role as Speaker of the Senate, I often struggled with the notion that I didn’t belong there. I had to keep reminding myself that my personal experiences were unique and provided me with the opportunity to shed light on what others in the room didn’t know. I like to think that in being open about my struggles, I played an essential role in advocating for students like me and in far worse situations. The idea that I might have made a small difference in accommodating working class students is what encouraged me to be the advocate we needed in all the decision-making rooms.
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