Anna Escobedo Cabral | |
---|---|
Official Portrait
|
|
42nd Treasurer of the United States | |
In office January 19, 2005 – January 20, 2009 |
|
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Rosario Marin |
Succeeded by | Rosa Gumataotao Rios |
Personal details | |
Born |
San Bernardino, California |
October 12, 1959
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Victor G. Cabral |
Alma mater |
University of California, Davis Harvard University George Mason University |
Profession | Attorney |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Anna Escobedo Cabral (born October 12, 1959) serves as the Unit Chief for Strategic Communications in the External Relations Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Prior to joining the bank, Cabral served as the 42nd Treasurer of the United States from January 19, 2005 to January 20, 2009. She became the highest-ranking Latina in the George W. Bush Administration after the resignation of Rosario Marin.
Cabral, a second-generation Mexican-American, was born in San Bernardino, California to Francisco Escobedo and Teresa Beltran. Her father's family had come to the United States from Mexico in the early 1900s as did her maternal grandmother. Alfred Escobedo, her paternal grandfather, also participated in the Bracero Program. Cabral's maternal grandfather was a Native American, born and raised on a reservation in Southern California and her maternal grandmother was from Mexico.
The oldest of five children, Cabral managed to attend Burbank Elementary School in the 1960s despite her family's hectic schedule: her father picked the fields of the Santa Clara Valley and both parents obtained various types of employment throughout the San Bernardino and Riverside counties. By the time Cabral entered high school, the family had moved 20 times.
At very early ages, Cabral and her siblings had to collect scrap metal and salvage old motor parts with their father that they would then sell to help the family survive. Her father had seriously injured his back, significantly impacting his ability to provide. Her mother worked several jobs, so, as the eldest child, Cabral often had the additional responsibility of caring for her siblings.
By age 16, Cabral was already on track to finishing high school early; after graduation, she intended to find a full-time job to help her parents financially. Her math teacher, Philip Lamm, convinced her instead to consider higher education. Lamm, she recalled in a later interview, "hand wrote the application. He told me that this was a better plan and found scholarship money for me to go to college." Lamm also helped her overcome her family's initial misgivings.