Amo Office is Open and Ready to Serve

November 16, 2023

Congressman Amo begins first week in Congress speaking on House floor, hiring senior staff, and planning ceremonial swearing-in for Rhode Islanders

PAWTUCKET, RI – Following his swearing-in on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week, Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) addressed his colleagues, highlighting his inspiration for service to the people of the First Congressional District. Today, Congressman Amo is proud to announce that Dylan Sodaro will serve as Chief of Staff and Kate Michaud as District Director.

Dylan Sodaro brings over a decade of Capitol Hill experience to his role as Congressman Amo’s Chief of Staff, having worked for senior members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. of New Jersey (NJ-09) and Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois (IL-05).

“I am eager to welcome Dylan to our office to serve Rhode Island’s First Congressional District,” said Congressman Amo. “He has both the legislative and management experience to effectively lead our office and deliver results for the District. Having served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Representative Pascrell, Dylan has a deep understanding of the Congress.”

Kate Michaud is serving as the District Director after serving as the Town Manager for the Town of Warren since 2018. Prior to her current role, Kate worked as the Director of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Warren and in municipal government in Tiverton.

“I am excited that Kate is joining our team because she brings over two decades of experience serving communities in the First District,” said Congressman Amo. “Kate understands the importance of robust constituent services, delivering federal resources, and coordination between local, state, and federal agencies.”

Congressman Amo's floor remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Representative Magaziner for the warm introduction.

And thank you to Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse who, alongside Representative Magaziner and now me, make up our small but very mighty Rhode Island congressional delegation.

And of course, to my predecessor, former Representative David Cicilline, I’m grateful for your service to Rhode Island. I look forward to our work together in both of our new roles.

Thank you to my family, friends, community leaders, and all those who supported me along the way. And of course, thank you to the people of the First Congressional District and those across Rhode Island, for giving me the opportunity to serve in the People’s House.

I want to tell you a story about Rhode Island. Reverend Mahlon Van Horne was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1885, making him the first Black person elected to the state legislature. Just think, Reverend Van Horne was elected as a Black man nearly two decades after the end of the Civil War.

In a 1887 sermon, Reverend Van Horne said,

"I believe the day is coming, is not far off, when in the commonwealth of Rhode Island, the stomping ground of soul, liberty will become the home of the free and the land of the truly brave. The home of the free, where fair play in all the walks of life will be accorded.”

Those words are top of mind for me today. Reverend Van Horne’s dream, and the dreams of those who have called Rhode Island home across generations, allow me to stand before you all today. While we have not arrived at our final destination in the project of this democracy, I am optimistic.

As a Rhode Islander, it’s easy for me. After all, our state’s motto is “Hope.”

It is hope that led my parents to come from West Africa – my dad from Ghana and my mom from Liberia – to pursue opportunity in the greatest country in the world. And they’ve been driven by hard work throughout: my dad as the owner of a liquor store and my mom as a union nursing home nurse.

But this is not just my story. It’s a Rhode Island story. It’s an American story.

And that shared story is why today, I am proud to be the Representative from Rhode Island’s First Congressional District. What is beautiful about hope is that it cares not about your race, your religion, your gender, or where your ancestors came from.

This belief has inspired people who arrived in Rhode Island from:

Italy and Ireland,
Portugal and France,
Dominican Republic and Haiti and Colombia,
Armenia and yes, countries in West Africa,
And so many places in between.

We must also acknowledge those whose family branches extend from the native tribes of our shores, to the settlers who came for religious freedom, to those who did not choose their journey as enslaved people – but whose hope persisted nonetheless.

Together, we must ensure that our great hope for the future is met with profound action.

Action to:

Protect and strengthen retirement security,
Support our seniors,
Create economic opportunity and good-paying jobs,
Secure reproductive freedom and keep politics out of the doctor’s office,
Ensure the livability of our planet for our children and their grandchildren,
Ban assault weapons and end gun violence,
And stand up to the threats facing our democracy.

This hallowed space, this House floor, is where we have always had to work vigorously towards the promise of our nation’s highest ideals and aspirations.

I cannot wait to work on behalf of the people of the First Congressional District. Everyone from:

Woonsocket to Newport,
East Providence to Cumberland,
Providence to Bristol,
And of course, the great city of Pawtucket.

Thank you for putting your trust in me to bring our Rhode Island values of hard work, grit, determination, resilience in the face of adversity all the way from the Ocean State to the halls of the United States Congress.

Rhode Island, I will work for you every single day.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back.

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