Olga Aran Méndez (February 5, 1925 – July 29, 2009) was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in the United States mainland, when, in 1978, she became a member of the New York State Senate. Early years Olga Aran Méndez was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. One of eight children, she was raised on the island in a middle class and highly educated family. Her mother, Ursula Garcia Fernández (b. 1894), was heir to a substantial family fortune along with her three sisters; she died when Olga was nine years old. Olga's father, Gonzalo Aran Soler (d. 1948), was a Clerk of the Court. His family, the Arans, were among the first French families to immigrate to Puerto Rico in the 19th century. In 1950, Méndez received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Puerto Rico, afterwards teaching high school chemistry on the island. In 1960, she earned her Master's Degree in Psychology from the Teacher's College at Columbia University. In 1975, she defended her Doctoral Dissertation in Educational Psychology and received her Ph.D from Yeshiva University. Méndez married into a respected East Harlem political family. Her father-in-law, Antonio "Tony" Méndez was the first Puerto Rican district leader in Manhattan. She became involved in the fight for better government through her family members and became an active leader in the area of voter registration drives throughout the nation. Political career In 1972, Méndez was elected as a New York Delegate, committed to Senator George McGovern at the Democratic National Convention. In 1974, she was elected to the "National Conference of Women" in Houston, Texas. On April 11, 1978, she was elected to the New York State Senate, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Robert García to the U.S. Congress. She was re-elected several times, and remained in the State Senate until 2004, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and 195th New York State Legislatures. Méndez was a delegate to the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions.. Méndez was a delegate to the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions. In 1984, she was chosen as Secretary of the Senate Minority Conference. In 1993, Méndez became the first Puerto Rican woman to be chosen Chairperson of the Senate Minority Conference. At times Méndez offered her political support to Republicans when doing