
Harriet “Mandy” Pino Oral History Interview
Activist Extraordinaire
Mandy Pino was born in 1925 in a small mining town outside of Gallup, New Mexico. As the daughter of the mine superintendent, she became aware of the social stratification and racial inequality at a very young age. Her first act of activism was when at six years old she spoke up for another student in class that she saw being treated unfairly.
Mandy has always been a fervent voice for labor justice and later in her professional life, for aging with dignity. In the early 1990’s she became an advocate for Medicare for All, a role which she continued up into her mid 90s.
Mandy has been a loyal PDA member since 2011 and was always recruiting new people, attending multiple meetings, reviewing legislation and making phone calls to legislators. She has swayed many state legislators with her testimony and citizen lobbying. Her knowledge and influence will be part of her New Mexico legacy for years to come.
In this 2017 interview 92-year-old Mandy gives a delightfully detailed personal history of her remarkable life experiences and the times that shaped her.
What an inspiration!