ELSIE GUERRERO

Legislative Assistant/Counsel

U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, Jr.

Elsie Guerrero is a first-generation Latina from Sacramento, California. She grew up in a single-parent household with her siblings. Her mother is from El Salvador. 

Elsie currently works as a Legislative Assistant/Counsel for Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr., where she handles the health, education, housing, labor, social security, and veterans’ policy portfolio. She has helped introduce various health bills and organized many congressional briefings to bring awareness to colorectal cancer, men’s health, and peripheral artery disease. 

Elsie loves giving back to the next generation. In addition to working on the Hill, she is an adjunct professor at American University, where she teaches Law and the Political System in the School of Public Affairs. She also founded the Advancing Latinas into Leadership Mentoring Program, which helps high school Latinas prepare for adulthood through college readiness and professional development. 

She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. While in law school, she served as president of Law Students for Disability Rights (LSDR) and the Latinx Law Student Association (LLSA). Elsie was also a student attorney at the Immigration Clinic, where she focused on children’s asylum law. Her achievement was well received at her law school, which awarded her the Rising Student Leadership Award. In 2020, she was featured as a Latina Influence of the Year with the Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine.

Further, she also earned her bachelor’s degree in government (Political Science) with minors in Philosophy and Sociology from Sacramento State University, a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Judicial Affairs from Golden State University, and a Master of Public Affairs and Practical Politics from the University of San Francisco.

Elsie is proud to participate in the CHCI Latino Hill Staff Academy. She hopes to gain the skills needed to advance in her career. As a CHCI Postgraduate Fellow, Elsie hopes to obtain a job as a Legislative Director. Her long-term goal is to open her own lobbying law firm and advocate for children and youth.