Born in Colombia during the drug war, Lina Hidalgo is no stranger to adversity and change. After moving to Peru and then Mexico to escape the traffickers and gangs, her family finally emigrated to the United States. Looking back, she marvels at the disparity between the lack of government action in Colombia, Peru, or Mexico compared with the flourishing public school system in Texas she was able to attend; with strong STEM classes, robust arts programming, and ample resources. She realized that in the United States, government was able to make a difference, and make a difference for the better. This put her on a journey towards helping others and believing in the power of good government. Hidalgo began her career working outside the political system as an activist for free expression in Southeast Asia, working closely with reporters and bloggers who would stand up to authoritarian governments. Often times, putting themselves and their families in harms way to speak the truth. Fast-forward to 2016, Lina Hidalgo, now armed with a master's degree and a J.D., watched as Donald Trump made a far-fetched run for the Presidency (and won). This began the wheels turning for her, like so many others, wondering if he can do it, surely she can too. Deciding to run for County Judge in 2018 put her on a collision course with history; no woman (and no Latina) had ever won the seat of Harris County Judge before. And despite the misnomer in its title, County Judge isn't a judicial position, it's an Executive Leadership one. Harris County is the 3rd largest County in America, behind only Los Angeles and Cook County in Illinois. As a 27 year old candidate, Lina Hidalgo was able to build a robust coalition of activists, organizers, and volunteers to get her vision out to the community, and she won in a stunning upset to become the Executive in charge of dozens of cities totaling more than 3 million people, along with a sprawling $5 billion budget. Since she made the jump into politics as a candidate, and now as an elected official, Judge Lina Hidalgo has had to lead her community through two "500 Year" floods, Hurricane Harvey's disastrous wake, three chemical plant fires, and now the COVID19 pandemic. Listen to our interview below with Judge Hidalgo as we dig deeper into her background, her historic campaign, her leadership style and steady hand at the wheel of a rocky boat, as well as her most recent fight to keep her community safe from COVID19.