STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ
Former White House staffer Alejandra Campoverdi will discuss her “First Gen: A Memoir” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Hailey Town Center West.
Campoverdi’s presentation, which will be followed by a reception and book signing, is being organized by the Hailey Public Library in partnership with the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.
During her time in the Wood River Valley, Campoverdi will also be presenting workshops in several schools, talking about her experience as a first-generation college student and conducting a writing workshop focused on the students own origin stories..
“Having Alejandra Campoverdi come to Hailey Public Library is a really big deal, not only because of the caliber of her writing but because of the power of her story,” said Lyn Drewien, director of the library.
“In ‘First Gen,’ Alejandra Campoverdi gives voice to the experience of being a ‘first and only’--the first to attend college, the only one navigating spaces where few others look like her. Her story is one of courage, vulnerability, and representation. We are so thankful to the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference for helping to bring her here.”
Born in Los Angeles, Campoverdi was raised by her mother and her grandmother who immigrated from Mexico. She earned a journalism degree at the University of Southern California while working as a parttime actress and model and later received a Master of Public Policy at Harvard University.
After working on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, she was appointed Special Assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and eventually wound up the first-ever White House Deputy Director of Hispanic Media, during which she developed the White House’s communications strategy for the Hispanic community. She even ran as a candidate for U.S. Congress in her home state of California.
Her national bestseller memoir “First Gen” examines the emotional toll of social mobility for those who are trailblazers, naming and framing the challenges that First and Onlys often face.
She made a splash as a featured author at the 2024 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, said Gretchen Gorham, donor relations/outreach coordinator for the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.
“Her book is very relatable—it talks about struggling with imposter syndrome, being a woman starting a new job, sometimes thinking you don’t have seat at the table. She has a connection with students. She loves them, and they love her.”
Students wrote letters to Campoverdi, not expecting she would read them, Gorham added. She wrote back, calling the students’ letters inspiring, sad and wonderful at the same time.
“I can’t wait to engage with the students,” she said.
Among the students looking forward to Campoverdi’s return is Joselyn, a Wood River High School senior who works at the Hailey Public Library. She met Campoverdi when the author talked to students in Sun Valley last year.
“We had all read the memoir,” she said. “I loved how personalized she was in answering each student’s questions. She really gave each student a special moment.”
The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference has collaborated with The Community Library in Ketchum to offer Wood River Valley residents an opportunity to hear from some of the authors who take part at its popular conference held in July. But this is its first foray into the south valley—an expansion funded by generous donor support.
The School Speaker Series was founded in 2019 and has taken such authors as Javier Zamora into Wood River Valley classrooms.
The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference has donated several copies of “First Gen,” which are available for checkout at the Hailey Public Library. And teachers obtained a grant to provide free copies of her book to students.