Recognizing Mrs. Sonia Perez, President, Upon Her Retirement and 43 Years of Service At At&T--Southeast States

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mrs. Sonia Perez as she prepares to retire after 43 successful years of service. Throughout her long career, she ultimately was responsible for leading and executing the overall strategic direction of AT&T's corporate initiatives throughout Louisiana and Kentucky. Her teams engage the collective governmental ecosystem at the state, local, and federal level to build technology infrastructure that solves economic challenges faced by urban and rural communities.

Based in Baton Rouge, Sonia has led on strategy, governance and social responsibility issues within the private sector and the non- profit organizations she has chaired since she moved to Louisiana as the AT&T state president in 2010, and previously in Texas. Outside of her work AT&T Sonia serves as an Independent Director for Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC), and on the executive committees of The University of Texas Foundation, the Louisiana Board of Regents, and The National WWII Museum.

Sonia remains engaged with her alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin, and was selected as a 2017 Distinguished Alumnus; having also previously received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award. In 2006, she was the first Latina elected president of the Texas Exes, the university's alumni association. Among her proudest distinctions is a 1996 presidential appointment by President Bill Clinton to the Advisory Council of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, a binational organization supporting the sustainable development of environmental infrastructure on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. She was also recognized in 2006 with the El Abrecaminos Award from the Texas Mexican American Legislative Caucus.

She has chaired various boards including the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the state's business roundtable known as the Committee of 100, and the Board of Trustees of my Alma Mater, Xavier University of Louisiana. She also led Governor John Bel Edwards' Economic Development Transition Team and is a member of the governor's Resilient Louisiana Commission. In 2018, Sonia was named to the Merit Selection Panel for the United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. She has also served on the national board of the Public Broadcasting Service, PBS.

Prior to being named the first woman president of AT&T Louisiana in 2010, Sonia worked in various capacities in Houston and South Texas, including as a vice president of AT&T Texas, where she was responsible for the company's initiatives throughout the Houston region. During that time, she was named the Houston Hispanic Chamber's Female Senior Executive of the Year, and served on the Houston board of J.P. Morgan Chase, and the executive committees of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Houston Partnership. She was also a member of the Memorial Hermann Hospital System Board of Directors.

Sonia has received numerous awards and distinctions including Top 100 Most Influential Latinas in 2020 by Latino Leaders Magazine, LatinaStyle Magazine 2014 Corporate Executives of the Year, 2013 Inspiracion Award from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, 2015 Weiss Award from the New Orleans Council for Community and Justice, 2015 Role Model from the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans.

On a more personal note, Ms. Perez was someone I truly appreciated working with across New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and her leadership will truly be missed. Congratulations to Sonia as she enjoys the best days of her life in retirement.

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