Desiree Ontiveros

Raised by her father, a janitor, and her mom, a homemaker, in El Paso, TX, like many of her neighbors, Desiree’s family relied on government assistance to support their four children when multiple minimum wage jobs simply could not. “While they were poor in money, they were rich in work ethic, culture, love, and encouragement. This mixture of family values and lived experience were the ingredients of Desiree’s American Dream.” Today, she is a New Orleans small business owner, community leader, advocate, and US Congresswoman-hopeful.

Launching Badass Balloon Co., a party supply company that uses traditional party supplies as a messaging platform for activists in need of sending messages to crowds. Her determination and entrepreneurial spirit broke generational cycles of poverty and allowed her to retain the jobs her small business created, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over the past four years, she has seen firsthand how the clock has rolled back on economic opportunity for millions of Americans. While leaders failed to manage this pandemic and the disastrous aftermath that ensued – that's when it clicked for Desiree. She could not sit on the sidelines any longer. She had to do something, and so she did. 

In January 2021, she declared her intention to run for Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district special election. Desiree explains, “We need to rethink and reform. We need to repave the path to the American Dream.”

The special election will be held on March 20, 2021.