The first woman president of a California bank, Katherine D. Ortega has excelled in all her endeavors. Instilled with virtues of hard work and self-reliance by her parents, she graduated with honors from Eastern New Mexico State University in 1957. After founding Ortega Savings & Loan Association in New Mexico and working in California’s banking industry, Ortega began to intensify her involvement in politics during the ‘70s. Swiftly moving through the ranks of President Regan’s cabinet, she served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business Ownership and Commissioner of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. In 1983, Ortega was sworn in as U.S. Treasurer, becoming the second Latina to hold this position.