[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 46 (Monday, March 24, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF STEPHANIE PORTA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 24, 2014

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History 
Month, to recognize Stephanie Porta. Born and raised in Orlando, 
Florida, Stephanie has been a leader from an early age. While in middle 
school, she received the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest award a 
Girl Scout Cadet can earn for her demonstration of successful 
leadership skills.
  After graduating with honors from American University in Washington, 
DC, she worked on several campaigns until becoming Director of Central 
Florida ACORN and then Florida ACORN.
  Stephanie left Florida ACORN in 2009 when she co-founded Organize 
Now! and the Florida Institute for Reform and Empowerment (FIRE). Both 
organizations work to address the needs of Florida's low and moderate 
income communities. Stephanie serves as the Executive Director for both 
organizations.
  Throughout her career, Stephanie has worked on a variety of 
successful campaigns for candidates and issues, including affordable 
utilities, police accountability, foreclosures, environmental justice, 
community safety, community development, health care, and public 
education.
  In 2012, Stephanie led the effort to pass an ordinance to allow 
employees in Orange County to earn sick time. When the effort was 
thwarted by the Orange County Commission breaking the law, the campaign 
called out the injustice and continued to fight for more transparency 
and accountability in Orange County while leading the investigation 
around the scandal called ``Textgate'' in which the Mayor and 
Commissioners were secretly communicating with special interest 
lobbyists via text messages to thwart the will of 50,000 voters.
  In 2013, Stephanie was recognized by the Orlando Sentinel as an ``up 
and comer'' for its ``25 Most Powerful People in Central Florida'' list 
and was recognized as one of ``12 to Watch'' in Orlando Magazine's ``50 
Most Powerful People in Orlando'' list.
  Stephanie was raised by Katie Porta, a single mother who spent her 
lifetime advocating for the disabled and taught Stephanie from an early 
age to treat people with dignity. Katie raised Stephanie with the 
belief that ``people don't want to be treated down; they want to be 
treated up,'' a mantra that has influenced Stephanie's work. 
Stephanie's relentless quest to achieve justice for those who have no 
voice in our community has been a beacon of hope and inspiration.
  I am happy to honor Stephanie Porta, during Women's History Month, 
for her contributions to the Central Florida community.

                          ____________________