Titus, Dina

Early Years, Family, and Education

Born May 23, 1950 in Thomasville ( Georgia , USA ) in the family of Joe and Betty Titus. Grew up in the city of Tifton ^{[5] [6]} .

Dina’s great-grandfather on his father’s side, James Seward, was a member of the Democratic Party and served in the US Congress (1853-1859) and the State Senate of Georgia (1860–1864). Her father was a member of the local city ​​council , was the head of the construction and security departments of Tifton and Henderson . Dina's uncle, Theo Titus, being a member of the Republican Party , served for many years in the General Assembly of the State of Georgia ^{[6] [7] [8]} .

The ancestors of the mother are Greeks from Thessaly ( Greece ) ^[9] . In 1911, Arthur Konstantinos Katonis, Dina’s grandfather, in whose honor she received her name (Constantine), arrived on Ellis Island (USA). In Tifton, he kept the Plaza Restaurant. Since there was no church and Greek school nearby, Konstantinos himself taught his granddaughter to count and write in Greek , and also introduced Greek cuisine . In 1980, she first visited Greece, where she met with her relatives in Athens and Trikala ^[10] .

Being a high school student , she was fond of cheerleading and tap-dance ^[6] .

In 1970 she graduated from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor of arts degree in political science .

In 1973 she received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Georgia .

In 1976 she graduated from the University of Florida with a Ph.D. ^[3] .

During the year she worked at the University of North Texas at Denton , after which she moved to Nevada ^[6] .

In 1977-2011, she taught at the Department of Political Science, University of Nevada in Las Vegas ^[1] , where Titus has created and continues to coordinate a law internship program that provides a group of students with the opportunity to work in the legislature of Nevada ( Carson City ) ^{[7 ]} .

Over the period of its more than thirty years of teaching career has received many awards and prizes ^[8] .

In 1988–2008, she was a member of the Senate of the State of Nevada, representing the 7th electoral district ^[11] .

Titus is the author of a number of bills , including one, according to which health insurance companies are required to cover the cost of the human papillomavirus Gardasil ^{[8] [12] [13]} . The bill was passed by both the Senate and the Assembly , and also signed by State Governor Jim Gibbons ^{[14] [15]} .

Legislative activity

Has introduced at least 60 bills ^[16] .

He is a co-author of Bill HR 236, calling for the protection of religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , as well as HR 486, in which the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is required to participate in good faith in negotiations with Greece to resolve a dispute about its naming (see also Macedonian question ) ^[7] .

Participation in committees

• Committee on Transport and Infrastructure (2009—2011; 2013 — present)
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Traffic
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment
• Veterans Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Disability and Funeral Benefits (oldest member of the minority faction)
  • Economic Opportunity Subcommittee

In the past

• Education and Labor Committee (2009-2011)
• Internal Security Committee (2009—2011) ^[17]

Participation in caucuses

• Greek Focus ^[18]
• Caucus on Integrated Service Organizations
• Animal Protection Focus
• Interstate caucus I-11
• Taiwan focus
• Equality Caucus for LGBT People
• American-Greek-Israeli Union
• et al. ^{[6] [11]}

In April 2009, Dina Titus was named the “Outstanding Democrat of the Year” for the second time, and therefore received a congratulatory letter from US President Barack Obama ^[19] .

Dina Titus maintains close contacts with representatives of the Greek diaspora around the world ^[6] .

As a member of the Nevada legislature, Titus put forward resolutions on the consecration of a new Greek church in Las Vegas and on resolving the dispute over the naming of FYROM in favor of Greece, for which she was noted by the Panmamedonian Association of America ^[10] .

In 2009, she won the Pericles Award from the American-Greek Council . It was also noted by the Justice for Cyprus International Coordinating Committee (PSEKA) at the 26th annual conference of Cypriot and Greek leaders in Washington ^[10] .

In 2012, Titus was marked by the organization “ Daughters of Penelope ”, which is one of the structures of the American-Greek progressive educational union in which it takes part. In addition, he attends the Church of St. John the Baptist in Las Vegas, and is also a member of the Women's Relief Society Women's Philanthropic Organization operating under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America , with 475 offices throughout the United States ^[10] .

As a member of the US Congress, Titus is in Greek focus and expresses strong support for efforts to protect the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the reunification of Cyprus (see Cyprus Conflict ) and maintaining the inviolability of the name of Macedonia and its symbols as Greek heritage in the unresolved conflict with the FYROM by the name of the latter ^{[ 6]} .

In June 2009, Titus represented US President Barack Obama at the opening of the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, where she also met with Greek leaders to discuss US-Greek relations . In November of the same year, she met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I during his visit to Washington ^[10] .

Titus has established strong contacts with the embassies of Greece and Cyprus, which served to strengthen and expand cooperation between Athens, Nicosia and Washington ^[10] .

In 2015, together with her colleagues in the Congress and the Greek Caucus, Niki Tsongas and John Sarbanes , sent a letter to Barack Obama in which the authors emphasized the importance of the US role for Greece, urged the United States President to remain on her side and use her influence where possible. , to ensure the development of the Greek economy ^[20] .

Nuclear Issues

He is the author of the highly acclaimed Bombs In The Backyard: Atomic Testing And American Politics and Battle Born: Federal-State Relations in Nevada during the Twentieth Century books. Titus is internationally renowned as an expert in history and politics on the issues of nuclear energy , weapons and waste ^{[11] [21]} .

Reproductive Rights

In 2014, Dina Titus received the highest rating from the non-profit organization Planned Parenthood , which provides reproductive health services both in the US and globally, for her position against a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks of gestation and facilitating access to abortions in the district Colombia ^[17] .

She is married to Thomas C. Wright, a retired professor at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, a specialist in the history of Latin America and the author of several award-winning books devoted mainly to political reference and human rights ^{[3] [21]} . The couple’s hobby is traveling the world ^[6] .

Dina Taitus' younger sister, Ro Hudson, has been a professor of special education since 2002 and one of the founding members of the College of Nevada at Henderson ^[21] .

• Congresswoman Dina Titus (official website of a member of the US Congress)
• Dina titus for congress
• Dina Titus on DMOZ

• Biography
• Profile
• Financial information (federal office)
• Legislation sponsored on the Library of Congress website
• Senator Dina Titus