Concha Ortiz y Pino

Concha Ortiz y Pino
Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
In office
1936–1941
Personal details
Born
Maria Concepcion Ortiz y Pino

(1910-05-23)May 23, 1910
Galisteo, New Mexico, U.S.
DiedSeptember 30, 2006(2006-09-30) (aged 96)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseVictor Kleven
EducationUniversity of New Mexico

Maria Concepcion "Concha" Ortiz y Pino de Kleven (born May 23, 1910) was an American politician from New Mexico. In 1936, she became the sixth generation of her family to serve in the New Mexico legislature.[1] Her father, Jose Ortiz y Pino, spent 10 years in the state House of Representatives. In 1941, at age 30, she became Democratic majority whip, the first woman to hold such a position in state government.[2] President Kennedy appointed her to the National Council of Upward Bound. Ortiz y Pino founded the state's first educational program dedicated to traditional Hispano crafts, the Colonial Hispanic Crafts School, in Galisteo in 1929.[3] She advocated for bilingual education, disabled and women's rights.

In 2004, Governor Bill Richardson named the building for the Office of the State Engineer after her.

  1. ^ Ruiz, Vicki (2006). Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia. Bloomington: Indian University Press. ISBN 0253346800.
  2. ^ "Concha Ortiz y Pino de Kleven, 96, Politician, Is Dead". New York Times. Associated Press. October 9, 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ^ Coulter, Lane; Dixon, Maurice Jr. (1990). New Mexican tinwork, 1840-1940. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 141. ISBN 0826311806.