35 Facts About Linda Chavez

Linda Lou Chavez was born on June 17,1947 and is an American author, commentator, and radio talk show host.

Linda Chavez is a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, has a syndicated column that appears in newspapers nationwide each week, and sits on the board of directors of two Fortune 500 companies: Pilgrim's Pride and ABM Industries.

Linda Chavez withdrew from consideration for the position when the media published allegations that she had employed an illegal immigrant a decade earlier.

In 2000, Chavez was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.

Linda Chavez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the daughter of Velma Lucy and Rudolfo Enrique Linda Chavez, a tail gunner in World War II who worked as a house painter.

Linda Chavez is of Neomexicana descent on her father's side.

Linda Chavez's father was descended from immigrants to New Spain from Spain in the 1500s; his family had lived in the New Mexico area for several hundred years, his ancestor Diego de Montoya was born on in Texcoco, New Spain, in 1596 and was the leader of an encomienda, an enslaved protectorate of Puebloan peoples in Pueblo San Pedro in New Mexico.

Linda Chavez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1970.

Linda Chavez is married to Christopher Gersten, former Bush Administration official, and is the mother of three adult sons, David, Pablo, and Rudy.

Linda Chavez is a grandmother of nine and resides with her family in Boulder, Colorado.

Linda Chavez was raised Catholic and converted to Judaism on June 9,1967, when marrying her husband.

Linda Chavez said in 1986 that she was never a practicing Jew, and that the conversion papers were signed simply to allow the wedding ceremony to take place.

Linda Chavez was a confidante of Al Shanker, the AFT's president.

Linda Chavez later wrote that the more she learned about the goals of these newer union leaders, the less comfortable she felt in the organization.

In May 1997, Linda Chavez asked that the final report be finished and delivered by a colleague, and was granted permission to withdraw from the project.

Linda Chavez was the first Hispanic woman nominated to a United States cabinet position.

In 1986, Linda Chavez left her post as the highest ranking woman in Ronald Reagan's White House in an attempt to win the Senate seat in Maryland being vacated by retiring three-term liberal Republican Charles Mathias.

Linda Chavez ran as a Republican against Democrat Barbara Mikulski.

The race was covered by national media, with observers noting that Linda Chavez was very unlikely to win.

Linda Chavez wrote that the term referred to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which she coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal" in reference to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

Linda Chavez published her first book, Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation, in 1991.

Linda Chavez wrote that American Hispanics should not have followed the same path as African Americans, seeking compensation for discrimination via affirmative action.

Linda Chavez wrote that Hispanics should assimilate themselves and use the English language in mainstream society.

In early January 2001 Linda Chavez stopped writing her column because she was in consideration for the position of Secretary of Labor.

Linda Chavez is currently a syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and a Fox News political commentator.

Linda Chavez frequently appears on a number of national news programs, including The O'Reilly Factor, the Glenn Beck show, Hannity and Colmes, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Good Morning America, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and Fox and Friends.

Linda Chavez has previously been a regularly panelist on The McLaughlin Group, Crossfire, and Eye on Washington.

Linda Chavez has guest-hosted several shows, including Hannity and Colmes, sitting in for Sean Hannity, and To the Contrary, sitting in for Erbe.

In 1986, Linda Chavez became president of US English, a non-profit dedicated to establishing English as the official language of the United States.

Linda Chavez resigned in 1988 following comments by co-founder John Tanton which she regarded as "anti-Hispanic" and "anti-Catholic".

Linda Chavez is the founder and chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank which focuses on three specific areas: affirmative action, immigration, and bilingual education.

Linda Chavez has been a Director of two Fortune 1000 companies, Pilgrim's Pride and ABM Industries.

Linda Chavez is a past board member of Greyhound Lines as well as the Foundation for Teaching Economics.

Linda Chavez sits on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and was named to the advisory board of the Bruin Alumni Association.

In 2000, Linda Chavez was named a Library of Congress Living Legend.