Coalition on Black Voter Participation, which sponsored the popular nonpartisan grassroots program, Operation Big Vote. She also held positions as Executive Consultant to the Council on Foundations and Coordinator of the Voter Law Policy Project for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Throughout the 1980s, Hillman championed many nonpartisan and bi-partisan efforts to ensure open access to the voting process for all citizens and the continued voting rights of minority Americans, including her work on the historic 25-year extension of the national Voting Rights Act. Her political experiences include paid and volunteer work on numerous local, statewide and national campaigns, including having served as a Senior Advisor with responsibility for Congressional and constituent relations for the 1988 Dukakis for President Campaign. In 1990, Hillman was made the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the United States, the first Cape Verdean American to hold that position. Hillman began her longtime commitment to public service and the nonprofit sector in 1970, when she worked for a community action program in her home state of Massachusetts. She also held management positions in Massachusetts State government. She has served on the boards and advisory committees of numerous local and national organizations concerned with public service, citizen participation and the development of public policy. Hillman was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board in 2015. Her writings include “Toward A More Perfect Union: The Congressional Black Caucus & Voting Rights,” and “E-Voting and Democracy in America.” Hillman has one son from her former marriage and currently resides in Washington, DC. Sources External links Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women in politics 21st-century American women