A nationally known political strategist will be the next guest speaker in a series at New Mexico State University.
Mary Hughes, co-founder and president of Staton Hughes, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and political consulting firm for Democratic candidates, will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Creative Media Institute’s Digital Media Theatre in Milton Hall. Her talk, “Women in the ’08 Elections: Perception vs. Progress,” is open to the public.
Hughes has directed campaigns and advised several elected officials, including:
• Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to lead her party in Congress.
• Delaine Eastin, the first woman to be superintendent of schools in
• Ron Gonzales, the first Latino mayor of
• Donna Hitchens, the first openly lesbian judge elected in the nation.
Hughes also has helped Gabrielle Giffords of
The series accompanies a university course being co-taught by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish on women, politics and the media.