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Music.

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I'm Liz Hershnoff-Tolley, and welcome to the Capital Coffee Connection podcast.

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And today I have the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Congresswoman

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Lauren Underwood, who I have been a fan of for quite a few years now.

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And she is a congresswoman from Illinois, and she has been in that house since 2018.

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And one of the things and the reasons why I started podcast was to really get

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to talk to our elected leaders about their heart, their humanity,

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and to not really get bogged down in the politics and policy.

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Because what I was wanting to show is that a lot of our leaders are really beautiful

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people that are doing this work from their heart and really trying to make a difference.

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And so with that introduction, I want to welcome Congresswoman Underwood and

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say thank you for joining us. And I look forward to having this conversation with you. Liz,

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thank you so much for having me. We've been talking about this for a little while now, and I'm so happy we could

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make it happen. Well, thank you. So you are from Illinois' 14th Congressional District.

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And can you tell us a little bit about what that area encompasses and what cities

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and towns that you represent? present. Illinois' 14th district is a suburban and rural community outside of Chicago.

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It's the community I grew up in. I live in a town called Naperville.

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It's a very large suburb. The district also includes pretty much all the city of Joliet,

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downtown Aurora, and then we go west.

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There is the highway I-80. And if you just head west on I-80 past a big state

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park called Starved Rock State state park, then you'll reach the far Western

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portion of the 14th district, which includes Putnam and Bureau counties.

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So it's seven counties in Northern Illinois, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall.

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Will, LaSalle, Putnam, Bureau. Wow. Okay. So before we get into a little more about you, could you just tell

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me what's special about people from Illinois? Well, I think people from Illinois are pretty special because we're Midwesterners

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and have have that kind of flair on what it means to be an American.

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And we have great values like supporting our neighbors and showing up for one

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another and leading with kindness. But we're also close to a big city here in Northern Illinois.

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And I grew up in the 90s. And so we knew we were champions.

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We knew we were the best. And that idea of growing up knowing that you're a winner,

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I think just really, maybe it was for a short period of time,

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you know, that decade, but But it really put me on a path where I felt pretty fearless.

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And I think that there's so many that share that same attitude across our state.

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Well, I love that. And I think you are fearless. And I mean,

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I know your story to becoming a Congresswoman is that you had to work really hard.

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Could you tell us a little bit? And again, it doesn't have to do with being

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a Democrat or Republican. It's just the journey of what you as this young woman who felt very confident

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was able to accomplish, because I think others listening will be appreciating

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that there's always a possibility even when things look like they might be against you.

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Absolutely. So I'm a registered nurse and I spent my career working to expand

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healthcare coverage in communities across our country.

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I worked to implement the Affordable Care Act at the federal level.

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So I worked on things like private insurance reform and healthcare quality and

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Medicare and preventive services, which are like the free screenings and vaccines

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and contraceptive coverage. Basically anything the Obama administration was getting sued on related to the

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ACA was in my portfolio and I loved it.

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And then I joined the Obama administration to work on public health emergencies

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and disasters like Ebola and the Flint water crisis.

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And I served until the very last day. I didn't want to help the Trump team take

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away health care coverage from people. So I decided to move home to Illinois.

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I began working for a Medicaid managed care plan in Chicago and went to a town

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hall that my congressman hosted in the spring of 2017 when the Congress was

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considering many different versions of Obamacare repeal.

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Right now, he stood in front of our community and said he was only going to

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support a version of repeal that let people with pre-existing conditions keep

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their healthcare coverage. So I'm a nurse. I had worked on the ACA, but I also have a pre-existing condition.

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I have a heart condition. It's called supraventricular tachycardia.

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And what it means is I have a rapid heart rate.

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And it was my early health experiences, getting treatment for my heart condition

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that inspired me to go into nursing. But when I heard my congressman make that promise, it was really personal to me and I believed him.

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And so I was really disappointed and angry when two weeks later he broke his

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word and he voted for the American Health Care Act, which was a version of repeal that did the opposite.

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It made it cost prohibitive for people like me to get affordable coverage.

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And I got really upset and I said, you know what, it's on, I'm running.

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And obviously I had to figure out how to run for Congress, but I was so inspired

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to take action as a result.

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So, you know, it's interesting because like sometimes you wonder why people

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go into politics or why they go into leadership and yours was like a natural

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progression, but it was something that upset you that got you actually motivated.

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And I know that you are also very focused on Black maternal health,

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and that that's been something that as a congressperson, you've been really passionate about.

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Can you talk a little bit about what got you to be there?

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Because I think that that's a very personal experience, but that it's made you

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as a leader really focused on that issue.

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Sure. So I went to Hopkins for graduate school. I got a master's in nursing

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and a master's in public health. And the first day of my master's program, I met a woman named Shalon Irving.

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Shalon Shalon had already earned a doctorate. She was sociologist,

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gerontologist, but was really curious about public health.

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And so I enrolled in this master's program and we stayed in touch, obviously.

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And when I was finishing up my time in the Obama administration.

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Shalon was preparing to give birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl named Soleil.

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This was in like January, 2017.

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And Shalon gave birth. And a couple of weeks later, She died due to complications

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related to high blood pressure connected with her pregnancy. And it was devastating.

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I remember going to her funeral and the director, Shalon was Lieutenant Commander

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in the United States Commission Corps. And it's also known as like the public health service, which is she was stationed

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at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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And so at the time, the director of the CDC came to her funeral.

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I remember sitting there and hearing this woman say, I don't know how this could happen.

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And I was just like floored because we know exactly how this happens.

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Because unfortunately, this story is not rare. It's not unique.

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Black women are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy related

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complications than their white counterparts. For every death, we have 70, 7-0 near misses.

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And so as a result, there's like this sorority of sorts of everybody basically

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knows someone who's either died or had really, really, really difficult pregnancies and deliveries.

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We call that severe morbidity. And it's this...

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Phenomenon, certainly within the Black community, but throughout the United States.

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Yeah, that gives me the chills. I mean, look, it's like you've used her legacy

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to actually inform and to do this work.

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And again, it's not political and it's just, it's really about everybody.

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So I appreciate, thank you for sharing that and sharing your personal story there.

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Well, we started the Black Maternal Health Caucus with the idea of ending our

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nation's maternal health crisis, because if you can improve the healthcare for

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those who are most impacted, it, you improve the quality of care for all moms,

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right? So we say that we're about saving mom's lives.

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And I think that to be able to do it in that spirit to honor Shalon and partnership

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with her mother who started a foundation is just really incredible.

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But unfortunately, you know, we're still hearing the news of these deaths,

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you know, within like the last 10 days. I don't know if you saw, Liz, that there was a cheerleader from Kansas City

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connected with Travis Kelsey C. and Taylor Swift, who died. And she had a stillbirth.

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And then she died. And it's just devastating.

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It is devastating. So thank you for the work you're doing and keep doing it

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so that we can actually see advances in female, in women's health care,

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but also in Black women's health care. It's crucial.

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So thank you. So I'm going to just skip back now to the beginning,

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because you did reference like that you grew up in your town and what was it

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like, what was it like to grow up there besides feeling empowered because it

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was the nineties, you know, going to school and like, what was special about your neighborhood,

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about your school and about your family? So my family's from Cleveland, Ohio.

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My parents met there and my dad got a job and we were really,

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at least on my mom's side, the only ones that left Cleveland.

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And so they picked this town called Naperville outside of Chicago.

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And I remember growing up and there was a lot of farms.

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I went to an elementary school where, you know, we didn't get a Black teacher

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at that school. So I was probably in third grade. She taught in fifth grade and I didn't have her in fifth grade.

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There was one other Black kid in my class, Eric James.

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And I remember it. I still remember now because we were like the only ones,

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you know, all these farms is very, very, very rural.

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I remember in first grade, there was a kid named Brian Book.

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And I thought he was so cool because he lived at a farm on Book Road and it

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was named after his family. And now, of course, that farm doesn't exist. It's a Walmart.

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But it was like that.

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So my community, the city of Naperville has gone through tremendous growth over

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the last 30 years. Back then, it was not very diverse.

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It was pretty pretty rural and it was comfortable. Everything was designed so

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that you didn't really have to leave. And what did your parents do? What were, what brought them there?

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Like what was their field? My dad is a classical pianist, but then wanted to support our family.

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And so he spent a career in finance. He got an MBA.

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He went to Northwestern. And then my mom worked for a manufacturing company, and she was a buyer.

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So she would always be working with suppliers and calling the factories in China

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and Mexico and doing that. And so mom pretty much always worked. And so we had lots of babysitters and

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went to daycare and kind of navigated that whole process.

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And your grandmother was involved in helping to raise you. Were you close with your grandmother?

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My grandparents lived in Cleveland. So we would see them for holidays,

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but they weren't certainly like the early years.

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So maybe when I was one and two, my family were very involved in child care.

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But as soon as we left, we were basically out here in Illinois.

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On her own. Yeah. And did your parents have any advice that they gave you growing

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up, you and your sister, like on what it, what you're supposed to do or things

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that they had learned in their life? My mother would always say two things. The first was you only need one friend.

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And so I, you know, middle school was hard.

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We moved a couple of times. And so that was really disruptive.

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And I would always see these girls who had large groups of friends and was never

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really part of a a friend group and felt kind of rejected and excluded in that way.

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And she would always say to me, well, you only need one friend and you have

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one friend, you have more than one friend. And so, you know,

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treasure the friendships that you have. You don't need to, you know, have this whole click thing.

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And the other was be a woman and be a woman was like my mother's.

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Rally and cry to like dig deep and do

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the hard thing so the dynamic between my mom and

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my dad is one where like my mom would

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do some of like the gross stuff so like if there was I remember there was once

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a time where there was like an animal that was stuck in you know part of our

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house yes and like my mom would be the one to like capture and kill you know

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there's like a nest my my mom would be the one to do that.

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And I remember in my first big girl apartment, there was a mouse and I was in

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Baltimore and I had to kill this mouse and then dispose of it.

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And my mom would be like, be a woman, Lauren. You got it. You can do it.

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And just that be a woman instinct.

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I mean, so many pep talks since I've been in Congress. Be a woman,

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Lauren. You can do the hard thing. It's like a mantra. When things are going rough, you can just say,

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be a woman. And it just gives gives you a strength that comes from within.

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I appreciate that. And for not just generations, but centuries,

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women have been doing the hard thing and persevering and come from a long line, these boss women.

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And so I just like dig deep. You have to own it. You got to own it.

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You got to own it and realize that you're enough. And even more than that,

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you know, can you talk a little bit about what Girl Scouts gave to you and what

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it meant to you to be a Girl Scout and how it it helped you or helped you as

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a, as to who you are today. Yes. So I joined Girl Scouts as a daisy in kindergarten and stayed in until

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my senior year of high school. It was community of peers, high school girls from across my town.

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Right. They weren't at my actual school focused on doing projects and to achieve

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our individual goals, which was something that I didn't really get in school.

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This idea is something that was customized to meet my goals and interests.

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And so I got that from Girl Scouts. And so when I graduated,

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had earned my gold award, which is the highest award in Girl Scouting,

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and then was offered the opportunity to pay something like very minimum to be a lifetime Girl Scout.

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So I paid this money as an 18-year-old and so stayed connected with Girl Scouts.

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So when I graduated from Hopkins, I finished graduate school.

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I was living in D.C. and working in government and had this big job that I loved,

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but I wanted to give back. And so I became a Girl Scout leader.

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And I said, I didn't want the young girls because I don't play.

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That's what I tell people. I was never a babysitter. I don't play.

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But I wanted some girls who needed, you know, some mentoring and love and attention.

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And so they gave me a group of sixth grade girls in D.C., in Northeast D.C.

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Oh, we wow. We did puberty.

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We did high school. We did dating. I took them on their first airplane trip.

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We went down to Universal Orlando. We sold all the cookies.

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I love it. All went to college. They love it. All graduated from college.

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They were at my swearing in. And pills. You're giving me the beautiful.

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I just love it. I love them so much. Well, you know, you took a chance because

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what they say is you, you know, to teach or to mentor young teenagers is really

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one of the hardest things. You know, I know you said you don't play well, but that is a huge responsibility

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because it's such a tough time.

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And so to hear your story and to hear that then they came to your swearing in

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is really quite beautiful. You actually changed, you know, you helped and changed some lives. So I love that story.

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That's why people like yourself to hear your stories and then know that you're

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out there fighting in Congress. It's beautiful because it helps everybody that's listening that you're not doing

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it for a title or for a paycheck, but you're doing it really because it comes

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from your heart and from your soul. So thank you. Is there any advice that you gave to these young women?

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I know what your mom gave you, but did you continue that or did you give them

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any specific specific thoughts that you think that were from what you learned

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that you shared with them? Well, our biggest thing was the idea of being a sister to every Girl Scout.

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So, you know, we had a pledge and the Girl Scout law, I'm part of it was to

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be a sister to every Girl Scout. And that was something that was tough for them because this idea of what sisterhood

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means. Sisterhood doesn't mean I have to like you.

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Sisterhood doesn't mean that we're going to be best friends.

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Sisterhood means that we are together, that we look out for one another,

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And that there's this like unbreakable bond.

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And even if, you know, we can't hang out all the time or, you know what I mean?

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Like all of that doesn't matter that we have to show up and just honor that

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other person as their sister.

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That was tough. You know, seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade,

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when like the mean girls and that whole dynamic, it can really be disruptive,

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even in a small group like a Girl Scout troop. But I really emphasize that. Yeah. And then I also brought in a lot of my girlfriends.

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So they got to see kind of us model that behavior in a way that maybe they couldn't

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see in their moms or their, you know, their family members. Yeah,

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no, it's quite inspiring. And I think it's just sort of a message that goes beyond teenage girls,

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like just about people that we are, we don't all have to love each other or

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even really like, let's say, or have the same interests, but there's a mutual

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respect and there's a way you treat people and there's a kindness.

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And, you know, part of it is just listening sometimes and not having to just,

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you know, say you got one mouth and two ears and you got to use it in those balance.

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And we sometimes forget that and we just talk, talk, talk, and we don't really

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listen. And I find that, you know, listening affords me a lot of opportunities to learn.

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But also then creating a safe space if someone wants to share.

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Exactly. Right. Because sometimes without that baseline level of understanding,

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someone would never open up because they don't feel safe.

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Right. And so, but if you emphasize that this is a sisterhood and this,

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you know what I mean, then no matter why someone came in.

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Yeah, they feel comfortable. It's important. And I and I love that.

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But that you are able to give those girls that opportunity.

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And again, it's that safe space. I really like that as well.

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Okay, so now I'm going to ask you some questions that are still in your safe

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space, but that are just to get people to get to know you on some of your likes.

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And however you want to answer them one word or explain what's your favorite

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color? I love Kelly green, like bright green.

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And so I have this green coat that I wore my whole first campaign.

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That is my color. I love it so much.

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I love it. It's a beautiful color. Okay. This one's a hard one.

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What is your favorite scent? I like roses. I get a rose scent, like a floral, light floral. Lovely.

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If you were to have one meal on a

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desert island or one meal that you could just send in

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what would it be what would be your like oh my god this

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is ideal i love french toast okay i

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love strawberry cheesecake and it

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can be real strawberries or that canned jelly strawberry

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yeah or it could be strawberry flavor cheesecake like artificial strawberry

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in there doesn't matter it's all delicious yes and what do you what do you put

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on your french toast strawberries love strawberries real maple syrup though

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right i can't do the breakfast syrup anymore and who who would you say is your biggest cheerleader?

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Probably my parents. My parents live in the district. They live like five minutes

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around the corner from me. And so every week when I get back from Washington, I go over to their house.

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It's like an hour and a half. My dad wants to go over everything that I said, you know, what Pelosi said,

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what Adam Schiff said, what Hakeem Jeffries said, what the president said,

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and then like go over everything that was on MSNBC that week.

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And then And just like do a full rehashing of everything that's occurred so

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that we can solve all the world's problems around the dinner table. I love it.

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I love it. I love it. They love this. And like they weren't even the most political people growing up.

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But like they have loved this congressional phase and meeting everyone that

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they see, you know, has also been a delight.

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But they they are. No, they go hard for me outside of this Congress stuff.

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They just want me to be OK. And I appreciate that.

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That's great. No, it's wonderful. And that they love what you're doing.

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Mm hmm. Do you have time to exercise? Well, I do. You know, I have been on this little journey. knee.

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So one of the things Liz is that, and like, I feel like I should have known

20:29

this as a nurse, but this whole, like your body changes several times in adulthood thing is real.

20:36

Coming to Congress is like going to college and like the freshman 15 is a real thing.

20:41

And so I like to do cycling classes. I have a spin bike at home and a spin bike

20:46

in DC and I use my Peloton app and you know, do my classes.

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I don't like the ones that are like, okay, you can do it. Let's go.

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I'm like the dig, dig, dig, dig. You know what I mean? Like really intense and like really make sure you have a good workout.

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I love it. And what's your playlist when you're doing it?

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Hip hop. Easy question. Where in the world have you never been,

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but you would like to go? I want to go to Asia so badly.

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And I had like Kodal invitations to go to India and then like COVID happened and I couldn't go.

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And then I was invited to go to Japan this week and couldn't go.

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And I just like, I really want to go so badly.

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So that's on my list. I really don't care though. I love traveling.

21:29

I am curious about people and their food and what they do in their countries.

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And I also, because of just my professional experiences, have learned that you

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don't have to have like two weeks to be able to just take off work and go travel, right?

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Like you can just, whatever period of time can be enriching and memorable.

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And so I will go for a weekend or go for a day.

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I mean, that sometimes sounds really wasteful, but sometimes that's all you have.

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And if you just stay home waiting to have a month to travel,

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I don't think you'll be out there. You miss out on a lot of opportunities. Yeah, I know. I hear you.

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If you could say where you've been that you have said is, oh my God,

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one of the most amazing places, what would that be? Okay. I love Paris.

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I love Paris. I love the food. I love the like really...

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Cheap corner cafe croissant, like not even like the high end,

22:25

like really artisanal bakery, just like that regular one euro croissant.

22:30

Incredible. They're the best because those are what the people in the neighborhood

22:34

are eating and they're not going to eat something that isn't great.

22:37

No, it's so good. And then you go to the regular Parisian grocery store and

22:41

get their roasted chicken. Like they're prepared roasted. It's so much better than ours.

22:45

It's just like unreal. Okay. So love Paris food, New Orleans.

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It's like the same thing. Like in New Orleans, like I have a rule against like

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street food. You know what I mean? Like the taco stand.

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Like I just, my, I can't do it.

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I can't do it. Other people can, um, more adventurous eaters,

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but in New Orleans, like the gas station food is good.

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You know, like everything is just so good in

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new orleans and have you been to lisbon i love

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i have been to lisbon and i have eaten what

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do you like there because i i just liked that

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that was a city that i went by myself and i felt so safe i rode the train i

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navigated went all around i just felt like that city was accessible as a single

23:30

english-speaking woman to be able to navigate as a tourist and have a great

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time There's just like no problems. I've been a couple of times and it's just really nice. I love it.

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And I love Lisbon. Okay. So you have, you're a passionate traveler, which I love.

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Yes. And then can I do one more? I went to Johannesburg when I turned 30,

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I found a flight deal for $395 round trip.

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So I went for three days and had the best time.

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Walked with some lions and went to like one of those markets.

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I love going to those markets and getting like art and the African fabrics and

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all of it was just great. I loved South Africa.

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Okay. Well, I've been inspired to do quicker trips and go farther places. So thank you.

24:19

Yes, yes, yes. So my last question, which I've asked a lot of all the electeds,

24:24

and the answers have been very different, but you answer part of it through

24:28

all the things that we've talked about. But my last question is, what does joy mean to you? What brings you joy?

24:36

And then how, and I think partially through just who you are as a person,

24:39

but also as a leader, how do you share that joy to inspire or bring other people up?

24:45

Well, healthcare days are my favorite days. And that's in Congress and outside of Congress.

24:50

When I get to help people with healthy, well lives, like I've done what I came here to do.

24:55

Yeah. And I think that the joy that I feel in doing that work,

24:59

I can't even suppress it. Like I couldn't even hide it if I wanted to.

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It just pours out of me. And so that's It's how I share it with other people.

25:09

I have one of these faces that, you know, exactly what I'm thinking all the

25:13

time. Even when I think I'm on my best behavior, everybody knows what I'm thinking.

25:17

It's just really nice when I can just, you know, be candid and sincere and direct

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and channel that energy collectively into doing good.

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And but then conversely, when I'm working on something that doesn't bring joy

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to still honor people and that issue when it's really important to them.

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And that takes some discipline and focus. And some days I'm good at it and some

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days I'm not, but I try to really give it the same type of consideration as

25:47

I would with the healthcare issue that animates me.

25:49

First, I want to say thank you because I love your answer. And the funny thing

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is that when I see you, I see this person who looks a little bit serious.

25:57

And then when you You smile just like you are right now.

26:00

You make it joyful to be with you. And I love your answers.

26:05

And I love talking to you and really just hearing a little bit more about where

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you come from and about your passion for travel, but really your passion for people.

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Because at the end of the day, you have made a very conscientious decision to

26:19

help people through your leadership.

26:21

And I know it's not always easy. And I know that it's not always successful.

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Successful, but you keep pushing and you keep trying because I know that deep

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down inside that you are passionate about the work you do. And that to me is inspiring.

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So I just want to say thank you. And just thank you for bringing joy to me today

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and bringing joy to so many people each and every day.

26:40

Thank you so much for having me and for creating this platform,

26:43

just be a regular, nice, normal human being. Right.

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And I think that some people kind of forget that that's what we bring to our work.

26:50

You're just a normal person, but a wonderful normal person. So thank Thank you so much. Thank you.

26:56

Hi, it's Liz. Please join me every Tuesday for coffee to talk about heart and

27:02

humanity with our elected leaders. Ciao.