On the recordSeptember 15, 2022
I rise today because today is a bittersweet day for me. I rise to recognize and express my gratitude for the outstanding work of Vanessa Valdivia, who has served as my communications director since my first day here in the Senate. I speak for everybody in my office when I say we are going to miss her. But I am also proud. Next week, she will begin work at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and as Press Secretary to the First Lady. I have no doubt that she will do great things in her new role. Since our first days in the Russell basement, in an office I had when I was transitioning, Vanessa has brought her incredible experience, her unique personality, and her tremendous passion to the job in helping me communicate our work to the people of California. From my maiden speech here on the Senate floor, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, to crisscrossing the State on an infrastructure listening tour as we were negotiating the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act here in Washington, to ensuring that Californians were consistently informed of the historic progress that we have made in this Congress, Vanessa has been a key leader in my office and an adviser to me. She is a California native and is the proud daughter of Mexican- Nicaraguan immigrants.…
