Caroline Cruz has been no stranger to merging together different elements. It is with this resolve that she transformed an artistic lean and serious skill in the visual arts into a promising career in the practice of law.

A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, her interest in law began when she noticed that certain laws directly impacted the lives of herself and others around her, and that many times, these laws were written by people outside of the group the directly impacted or attempted to serve.

“I needed to understand what was this powerful force that impacted the lives of a community I knew to be profoundly brave, skilled, and daring. In middle school and high school the idea became clearer. I wanted to join the conversation of what shapes and defines law since I refused to be the passive recipient of the decisions of others. As an adult, I saw that law was being shaped everyday by legislatures, politicians, judges, and practicing attorneys” said Cruz.

And in her current position as a Deputy City Solicitor at the Philadelphia Law Department, Cruz has not abandoned her dedication to practicing law in service to her community. “In Philadelphia being a Latina lawyer in government has also meant being part of the great privilege of representing the City of Philadelphia as it attempts to have its government reflect the rich and growing diversity of its citizenry,” says Cruz.

Cruz quotes  Secretary of State Mari Carmen Aponte when she says, “It is not the doors you go through but the doors you keep open that shows who you are and your capacity for leadership.”

“I think for Latino attorneys this commitment is very real because we know that if we are not in the room that justice seeking conversation is incomplete,” says Cruz.