Speakers & VIPs

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee was first elected to represent California's ninth Congressional District in 1998, in a special election to fill the seat of retiring Congressman Ron Dellums.

After serving on the International Relations and Financial Services Committees, in 2007 she joined the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal purse strings and is widely viewed as one of the most powerful committees in Congress. She serves on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee, the Foreign Operations Subcommittee and the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

She is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and a Senior Democratic Whip. She also serves as Co-Chair of the CBC Outreach Task Force.

Congresswoman Lee's accomplishments in promoting effective, bipartisan legislation to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and bring treatment to the infected have earned her international recognition as a leader in the fight against global HIV/AIDS. Her bills to create the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, to protect AIDS orphans, and to create a $15 billion fund to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria were all signed into law.  She has also been a leader in the fight to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., particularly in the African American community.  In 1998, she helped declare a state of emergency in Alameda County to order to secure more funds to fight the disease, and in 2005 the House passed her resolution recognizing the goals of National Black AIDS Awareness Day.

Congresswoman Lee's willingness to stand on principle earned her international acclaim when she was the only member of Congress to vote against giving President Bush a blank check to wage war after the September 11th attacks. In addition to being one of Congress' most vocal opponents to the war in Iraq, Congresswoman Lee has been a leader in promoting policies that foster international peace, security and human rights. In 2006, she successfully blocked funds from being used to establish permanent military bases in Iraq.  She sponsored legislation disavowing the doctrine of preemptive war and has been a leader in the bipartisan effort in Congress to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

Congresswoman Lee is committed to eradicating poverty, fostering opportunity and protecting the most vulnerable in our society. In the wake of hurricane Katrina, she wrote the poverty section of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Gulf Coast reconstruction legislation and introduced a package of bills designed to make poverty eradication a priority for Congress.

California's ninth Congressional District encompasses most of Alameda County, including the Cities of Albany, Ashland, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Cherryville, Emeryville, Fairview, Oakland and Piedmont.

Born in El Paso Texas, Congresswoman Lee graduated from Mills College in Oakland and received her MSW from the University of California in Berkeley.  She began her political career as an intern in the office of her predecessor, then-Congressman Ron Dellums, current Mayor of Oakland, where she eventually became his Chief of Staff. Before being elected to Congress, she served in the California State Assembly from 1990-1996 and in the California State Senate from 1996-1998.