HONORING NICOLE VICTORIA MCLAREN AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

HONORING NICOLE VICTORIA MCLAREN AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E143] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING NICOLE VICTORIA MCLAREN AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH ______ HON. DARREN SOTO of florida in the house of representatives Friday, February 21, 2025 Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Nicole Victoria McLaren, Esq. is a first- generation American born to Jamaican immigrants. She is a proud alumna of Florida's public school system, graduating from West Orange High School, Florida A&M University, and the University of Florida's Levin College of Law. She wholeheartedly believes, as Shirley Chisholm once said, ``Service is the rent you pay for the privilege of living on this Earth'' She built her career in public service, first as an assistant public defender and then as an assistant prosecutor for Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, following the 2008 foreclosure crisis. During this time, she volunteered as the Orange County District 3 representative on the Orange County Membership and Mission Review Board and was later elected as an Orange Soil and Water Supervisor. Nicole was honored and humbled to serve the residents of Florida's Ninth Congressional District as the legislative director for Congressman Darren Soto and, most recently, as a presidential appointee to the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Biden-Harris Administration. She is eternally thankful for the lessons she learned from her grandmothers, Dezerene Christian and Emelme McLaren, as well as her parents, Gary and Dell McLaren. Nicole is grateful for the continuous support she receives from her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. Shelly McLaren and Joseph Webster; her nieces, Ailani Simone, Alora Synclair, and Alaya Shayne Jolee Webster; her day-ones; her ``Golden Girls''; her FAMU forever friends; her mentor, Colonel, USA Retired Myrna Amelia Mesa; and her mentees, whom she affectionately calls her kids, Renegade, Atlas, Dandelion, Velvet, and Jaguar. She will eternally be grateful to Congressman Darren Soto and her extended Team Soto family for the opportunity to work alongside them to serve her neighbors. Team Soto Forever (Team Soto Para Siempre). ____________________