News & Commentary written by Elvia Montoya

Elvia Montoya is the Deputy National Director for Policy and Government Affairs at the ACLU and brings a decade of experience in legislative and policy work. In this role, she supports overseeing a team of policy experts and strategic planning initiatives—providing counsel to senior leadership and supporting staff in advancing policy at the federal, state, and local levels.

Before joining the ACLU, Elvia served as the Federal Affairs Manager for the Port of Portland, where she led all federal advocacy efforts. Previously, she spent several years on Capitol Hill, most recently as Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), where she managed a 17-person policy team, developed legislative strategies, and helped lead the Senator’s long-term strategic planning. In that role, Elvia supported the development of several filibuster reform efforts and a weekly initiative to educate the Democratic Caucus on Senate rules and procedure. Elvia served as the Senator’s top advisor on health care, education, LGBTQ policy, and democracy reforms. She successfully spearheaded efforts on nursing education that became law, reinstated a summer meal program for low-income children in Oregon, and partnered with stakeholders to stop the merger of a Medicaid organization with a private insurer that denied access to reproductive, gender-affirming, and end-of-life care.

Earlier in her career, Elvia worked for Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Portland and began her career working on Oregon House campaigns and voter registration efforts.