damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today, we go one-on-one with a senior adviser to the president of the united states, who also happens to be the granddaughter of cesar chavez, on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ damian: julie chavez rodriguez, thank you for joining us today. you know, i drive my pickup truck to work every day, and i do my job, and i go home, and that's humbling. you drive to work every day, and you come to the white house. are you as awestruck now about that fact as you were on the first day, or what's your thought process

when you come to work? julie chavez rodriguez: yeah, no, definitely, and thank you, damian, so much for, you know, having me join you all. it's, you know, it's a real honor and privilege to be able to walk through--well, drive through the gates of, you know, the white house every day, and i remember, even in the last administration, when i first started working with then president obama and vice president biden, that they said, the moment that i take this role, this position, even that kind of daily, you know, action, for granted, then i no longer deserve to be here, and it's not that, you know, we need to carry, kind of, the weight of it at all times, but there's such a sense of real responsibility, of deep-seated commitment to the work that we're entrusted with, as you know, helping to facilitate, kind of, the federal government and our administration's agenda, and so that, to me, is a tremendous

honor and privilege and a huge responsibility that i don't take lightly and that, hopefully, you know, energizes me every day that i drive through those gates. damian: is there still a lump in your throat? i mean, i've had a lump since i walked in the building. julie: definitely, definitely, i mean, there are times, you know, where i'm in a meeting or on a webinar, and i do. you know, my emotions sort of get the best of me because it is, you know, again, the responsibility but also the opportunity that we have to ensure that we're, you know, representing our communities in these conversations, whether it's at the policy level as we think about, you know, kind of, our outreach and engagement efforts. i think about so many of the, you know, amazing opportunities that we now have to reach our community around the affordable connectivity program, as an example. you know, people can get access to, you know, internet, affordable internet, and, you know, rebates.

they, you know, can go to--i believe it's internetforall.gov, and, just, you know, it's immediate opportunities for our community. and so how do we make sure that we're reaching people where they are and making sure that they get connected to? you know, really, the purpose of what government is--and it's to serve the people. it's for the people. damian: talk about your tenure in the obama administration and what that was like, and who was it that--who called you and said, "can you join our team?" julie: well, i was first called by a dear friend of mine, someone who's been a colleague, and, you know, a mentor throughout the years, stephanie valencia, who said, you know, "i've been given the opportunity to step into a deputy role in the office of public engagement," and she said, "i think you should apply for my position." so i was taken aback. i mean, never in my mind was this, sort of, even something that was a realm of possibility for me, not because i didn't,

sort of, see it as just really something to aspire to, but it was just--it wasn't in my realm of even thinking, and so, when i got that call, i was, of course, you know, really taken aback and immediately said, "of course, i would, you know, welcome the opportunity to interview and to, you know, at least be able to demonstrate what i could bring to the team here at the white house," and so i actually interviewed in this office, and it was almost ten years to the day, maybe about nine and a half years, that, then, i occupied the office as the director of intergovernmental affairs, and i will never forget that day when i came in. i was sitting across the table from stephanie, cecilia muñoz, who--this was her office--she, at the time, was director of intergovernmental affairs; and jon carson, who was the director of the office of public engagement. and it's the first time that i had three people interviewing me

at the same time, so i was definitely intimidated being at the white house and being in front of, just, real icons. you know, cecilia had a long-standing career in the--you know, working on behalf of civil rights, in particular, for latino community at--for nclr, now unidosus. jon carson ran field for the obama campaign in 2008, and was just known as, kind of, the "organizer of organizer," and so, you know, given my roots, and, you know, being an organizer at heart, i was just so excited to have that opportunity, and, fortunately, you know, i was hired not that long after. damian: you know, it was those roots but maybe being genuine and straightforward. is that maybe what lured you to them?