Victoria Ribas certainly has a lot going on.
As the national security adviser for House Democratic Caucus Speaker Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), she tackles issues surrounding immigration, national security, and other contentious topics.
Her role involves juggling multiple tasks, like crafting markups, developing questions for hearings, and facilitating meetings between Washington policy experts and Aguilar’s constituents in Southern California.
“Every day is very different,” she remarked.
At 32, Ribas didn’t initially envision herself on Capitol Hill. After earning a degree in political science and international relations from the University of California, Berkeley, she landed in Washington through an internship with Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). Since then, she’s become quite rooted here.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be a ‘Hill person,'” she admitted. “I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to work in diplomacy. And I really enjoyed it. Ten years later, here I still am.”
Her initial full-time job on the Hill was with another Democratic Caucus chair, former Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.). She also spent time in Lucille Roybal-Allard’s (D-Calif.) office before joining Aguilar’s team in 2020.
This felt like returning home since her hometown, Rancho Cucamonga, is part of Aguilar’s district. She values the interactions with district residents, seeing them as some of the most fulfilling aspects of her Capitol experience.
“That’s their office too,” she pointed out. “When I was in the district, I had no idea you could actually reach out to your local council members or anyone really to make your voice heard… It surprised me, because DC feels so distant from California.”
When she’s not immersed in political matters, Ribas finds time to read and escape a bit. She sets an ambitious goal of reading 100 books each year and usually manages to achieve it.
“It’s refreshing to step away from the screen and disconnect from the chaos here,” she said. “I’m a bit behind on pop culture since I don’t watch much TV or movies.”
“But I can definitely share a lot about the books.”
