Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza Papers

Collection

Identifier: 02-MS09

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza Papers are divided into 10 series.

The first series, District Clerk’s Office Operations, documents the operations and organization of the office of the district clerk. The material in this series was created by either Amalia, her staff, or in collaboration with other county departments.

The second series, Organizations and Committee, focuses on Amalia's involvement in professional and civic organizations. Much of the material in this series comes from conference and seminars attended by Amalia. Additionally, the series includes correspondence, meeting minutes, budgetary files and other documents relating to the operations of professional and civic organizations.

The third series, Correspondence, contains correspondence sent and received by Amalia and her staff. The series includes Amalia’s correspondence with county elected officials and departments, state officials and includes various greeting and holiday cards.

The fourth series, Speeches and Presentations, contains speeches and presentations given by Amalia on various topics. These speeches and presentations mainly focus on the practices of the district clerk’s office and issues relating to women and the Hispanic community.

The fifth series, Elections and Politics, consists of material relating to Amalia’s election campaigns and her involvement with other political campaigns and voter registration.

The sixth series, Publications, consists of published material that was collected by Amalia and the district clerk’s office. Many of these publications relate to Amalia’s interest in professional organizations, art and writing, and news concerning the county and the district clerk’s office.

The seventh series, Reports, contains reports collected by the district clerk’s office. These reports were not created by the district clerk’s office but contain information relevant to the operation of the district clerk’s office.

The eighth series, Assorted Personal Files, consists of materials relating to Amalia’s personal and professional relationships and interests.

The ninth series, Photographs, contains photographs collected by Amalia and the district clerk’s office. Many of the photographs document Amalia’s involvement in various professional organizations and local, state, and national politics.

The tenth series, Audiovisual Materials, contains video cassettes and dvds collected by Amalia and the district clerk’s office.

Dates

1976-2014
1990-2014

Biographical or Historical Information

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza served as Travis County District Clerk from 1991 until 2014. She was born February 17, 1946 in Del Rio, Texas. In 1968, she moved to Austin and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and later a master’s of education degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Elected in 1990, Rodriguez-Mendoza became Travis County’s first minority district clerk. Before she served as district clerk, she served as Director of Voter Registration for Travis County from 1982 to 1989. In 1991, then-Governor Ann Richards appointed her to chair the Governor’s Commission for Women, an organization focused on improving women’s health and supporting research and monitoring legislation affecting women.

Responsible for modernizing the district clerk’s office in the digital age, Rodriguez-Mendoza has been recognized by the Texas Association of Counties and Government Technology magazine for her office’s Internet jury impaneling website, I-Jury™, which made signing up for jury duty easier through the Internet.

During her time as Travis County District Clerk, Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza served as a member and a leader of different professional and civic organizations. She has held leadership positions in Leadership America, Leadership Texas, and Leadership Austin and was the president of the County and District Clerks’ Association of Texas from 1999 until 2000. She was the co-founder of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, the first statewide Hispanic women's organization and of Mexican American Business and Professional Women’s Association.