“We have made history. Now we must make progress.”
– Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi ’62

Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi has not only made history, she truly makes progress in ways that benefit many others every day. Since 1987, she has been a tireless advocate for her constituents in California’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes some of San Francisco’s most beautiful and diverse neighborhoods. From the Golden Gate, her world view scans local, national and international horizons, recognizing the housing needs of AIDS victims, advocating better health insurance for persons with disabilities, promoting improved protections for workers and pay equity for women, piercing into the dark conditions of human rights in China.

History already records Nancy Pelosi’s stunning achievement as House Democratic Leader, the first woman ever in the history of the United States to be elected as a leader of a major party in the United States Congress. Her election confirmed the high esteem and respect that Congresswoman Pelosi earned among her peers in the United States House of Representatives.

Progress is clear each day in Mrs. Pelosi’s leadership. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, she has worked to double the budget for the National Institutes of Health and to increase funding for breast cancer research. In her decade of service on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, she has worked to promote improved conditions for intelligence in order to address more effectively the threats posed by international terrorism.

Leadership in the public square was clearly part of Nancy D’Alesandro’s formation even long before she arrived at Trinity in the fall of 1958 to join the Class of 1962 as a Political Science major. She hailed from a legendary political family in Baltimore, where her father Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., served as Mayor for 12 years after serving five terms in Congress. Her brother Thomas D’Alesandro III also served as Baltimore’s Mayor.

Family is one of Nancy’s great passions, and after graduating from Trinity, she moved west with her husband Paul Pelosi to raise a family that now includes five children and five grandchildren. She waited until her youngest daughter was a senior in high school before she ran for her first elected office.

Nancy also cherishes her Trinity heritage, particularly the friendships for which Trinity is famous. In her interview in the Fall 2002 Trinity magazine, she said, “My best friends from Trinity are still my best friends.”

For her achievements in leadership and public service, and in recognition of her loyalty to her classmates, friends and alma mater, Trinity College is pleased to bestow upon Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi ’62 the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

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