Diversity of Thought Carrying Through the Halls of Congress

Written by: Daniel López

Serving as the first guest speaker after initiating our Congressional placements, Jeyben Castro, Deputy Director of the House Office of Diversity & Inclusion, discussed the importance of Congressional offices hiring staff reflecting the diversity of the country. Through a Zoom meeting, Jeyben encouraged each of the CHLI Global Leaders and Fellows to be active in our communities and share about programs like CHLI, which allows Latinx leaders to work in a Congressional office.  

Before speaking about his job in the House of Representatives, Jeyben shared his background and how he got to Washington D.C. I immediately made a connection with Jeyben after sharing he was born in El Sauce, Nicaragua, and migrated to Miami, Florida—we are both Central Americans. Through his network in D.C., he learned that elected officials hired staffers to help them during their time in Congress, leading Jeyben to become a staffer himself.  

Jeyben’s commitment to diversity initiatives and the Latinx population is seen through past work in the private and public sector, and his current role on Capitol Hill. Jeyben, along with his colleague Kemba Hendrix, recently developed a diversity plan currently under review by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. After it becomes approved by the Speaker of the House, the diversity plan will go into effect.   

As Jeyben shared about the diversity plan, it made me think about how future policies will be even better since they will come from a variety of different perspectives. When asked about the importance of his work, Jeyben replied, “when we are looking at policy, the more diverse the eyes and minds that come up with this policy, the better outcome in policy we will have.”  

This statement is true. The 116th Congress is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse class ever. Although the 116th Congress is diverse, it’s not the same case for the staff working in these offices. Establishing the House Office of Diversity & Inclusion, where Jeyben is hard at work, is a sign that Congress is moving towards the right direction in creating a diverse and inclusive workforce bearing resemblance to the communities they serve.  

Jeyben spoke about outside stakeholders and resources on Capitol Hill, helping to increase diversity in Congressional offices. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund started Staff Up Congress, an initiative helping Congressional staffers gain the skills to apply for more senior-level positions.   

Prior to CHLI, as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Public Policy Fellow, I went through the Staff Up Congress 2020 Communications Academy program, where I grew in knowledge and built relationships with staffers of color in senior-level positions. Jeyben mentioned he is working on creating college pipelines to bring more people with diverse backgrounds to Capitol Hill. Additionally, he asked of us to share about programs like CHLI with our networks that are doing the work to diversify Congress.  

I was able to connect to Jeyben’s work on Capitol Hill because I am also an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in every space I am in, especially when creating policies. I believe each person brings in a unique perspective helping to create strong, effective, and feasible policies. Advancing diversity of thought is what CHLI takes pride in, and I can see this carried out through the halls of Congress by the Global Leaders and Fellows, including myself.  

When policies on Capitol Hill become inclusive for undocumented immigrants, maybe I will come back as a staffer and walk the halls of Congress. I will come in with the perspective of being undocumented, from Guatemala, raised in Michigan with a background in education and immigration policy, and prior experience working on Capitol Hill because of programs like CHLI.