Velma R. Veloria (born October 22, 1950) is a former politician from Washington. Veloria was the first

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

as well as the first Asian American woman to be elected to the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

as a member of

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

. She served from 1993 to 2004.

Early life

On October 22, 1950, Veloria was born in

Bani, Pangasinan Bani, officially the Municipality of Bani (; ; sambal language, Sambal: ''Babali nin Bani''; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. In 1962, Veloria immigrated to the United States.

Education

Veloria earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the Califor ...

Career

From 1970 to 1980, Veloria was a Labor Activist. Veloria worked at Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), IL WU Local 37 (cannery workers), and Service Employees' International Union (SEIU). From 1990 to 1991, Veloria worked as a legislative aide to Art Wang who chaired the Finance Committee. On November 3, 1992, Veloria won the election. In January 1993, Veloria became the first Asian-American woman and first Filipino American to serve as a member of

for

District 11 District 11 can refer to: *District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam *District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland * District 11, an electoral district of Malta *Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States *District 11 (H ...

, and served until 2004.

Awards

* 2019 Curriculum and Community Innovation Scholar. First recipient. Faculty award honored at

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

.()

Personal life

Veloria's husband is Alonzo Suson. Veloria and her family live in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veloria, Velma 1950 births Living people San Francisco State University alumni Women state legislators in Washington (state) Members of the Washington House of Representatives 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature