[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E15]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING COURTNEY CALLEJAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 8, 2019

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Courtney 
Callejas. After joining my team as an intern in my first term in 
office, she departs this week, more than four years later, as a trusted 
legislative assistant covering a wide range of important issues.
  Courtney is a native of the second congressional district of 
California, the most beautiful district in the country, and her 
fondness for the people and places of the North Bay have served her 
very well in her work. She graduated from Sonoma State University in 
2012, and after attaining a Master of Science in International 
Relations degree from Kingston University in London, she returned to 
her hometown of Petaluma for a job with the family-owned Straus Family 
Creamery, a leading organic dairy in our region. Her work ethic and 
enthusiasm brought her success in that role, but then--fortunately--her 
desire to get involved in public policy brought her east to Washington, 
D.C.
  Over the course of the next several years, Courtney has worked her 
way up and done a little of everything in the office: managing interns 
and greeting constituents, strengthening my constituent correspondence 
program, and, ultimately, becoming a legislative assistant. In the 
115th Congress, Courtney staffed the creation of our new Congressional 
Freethought Caucus and has been integral to our efforts to bring 
accountability to the Trump administration, especially in the realms of 
campaign finance and foreign policy. Her intellectual curiosity, desire 
to help others, and dedication to public service were clear from the 
beginning, and her time living and working in the North Bay have given 
her important personal insights into the district's interests and 
needs.
  Madam Speaker, as Courtney moves on to the staff of Congresswoman 
Jennifer Wexton of her adopted state of Virginia, we will miss her 
generous spirit, hometown pride, and infectious laugh, and we wish her 
the best of luck in her new adventure.

                          ____________________