Nanette Barragán

Barragán was born in Harbor City, Los Angeles; she is the youngest of 11 siblings, raised by immigrants from Mexico in Torrance and the surrounding area, where she attended North Torrance High School and played softball.^[4] She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a minor in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2000. She received her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Southern California in 2005, where she served on the Interdisciplinary Law Journal.^[5]

During college and until 2003, Barragán served as the Executive Director of the Gillian S. Fuller Foundation (formerly the Fuller Foundation), where she was in charge of funding nonprofits focused on education, the environment, and youth programs. Funded organizations included Heal the Bay, the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Para Los Niños, Proyecto Pastoral, and Literacy Partners.^[6]

In 2003, Barragán served as an extern to Justice Carlos Moreno at the California Supreme Court. In 2004, she served as an extern at the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation, a law firm for low-income people in Los Angeles. There she assisted pro per workers who needed assistance filing claims for unpaid overtime and meal breaks.^[7]

In 2005, Barragán received an externship at the United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California where she worked with attorneys in the Organized Crime and Terrorism section. There she assisted on a money laundering trial team, in investigations, and in prosecuting Central Violations Bureau cases.^{[citation needed]}

Barragán then joined Latham & Watkins LLP, where she worked on a variety of cases from land use to securities litigation. While at Latham, she was the lead attorney in an immigration asylum case spanning three years for a child and mother from Guatemala; withholding of removal was granted. After Hurricane Katrina, Barragán and her colleague, Blake Megdal, flew to Biloxi, Mississippi, to provide pro bono assistance with insurance claims. She also served as a child advocate and was the Spanish-speaking adoption attorney for low-income families seeking adoptions.^[8]

Barragán started her political career with the Clinton White House in the Office of Public Liaison doing African American outreach, and served as the facilitator between the president and African American organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1999, she worked with the NAACP's Washington Bureau on health policy and racial health disparities. Thereafter she volunteered for many federal and local candidates while serving on the Board of the L.A. County Young Democrats for three years before attending law school.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, Barragán took a leave of absence from her law firm to move to Florida to work on President Barack Obama's reelection campaign with the voter protection team. She served as the out-of-state volunteer attorney director and recruited attorneys across the country to volunteer in Florida to make sure every eligible voter had the opportunity to vote.^[9][10]

Barragán watches and plays baseball. In high school, she petitioned school leadership to allow girls to try out for the school's baseball team.^[41] Her favorite team is the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2017, she was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium.^[42] Since 2017, Barragán has played in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. She has also played in the Congressional Women's Softball Game.^[41]

Barragán is Catholic.^[43][44]

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives