Pamela Starr is, in her words, a born-and-raised “Valley girl.” Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Starr, the director of the U.S.-Mexico Network at USC, became fascinated with Latin America during high school, observing from afar the civil wars racking Central America. After traveling to Mexico to study Spanish, she said, “I fell in love and I’ve been going back ever since.” Read more about Starr below.
Q. What music have you listened to today?
A. Michael Jackson and Queen.
Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. I pretty much always wanted to be a learner. I loved learning.
Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. Ketel One martini.
Q. What is your greatest extravagance?
A. Clothing.
Q. What was the last thing that inspired you?
A. My husband. He does that every day. Almost.
Q. What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
A. The light.
Q. What is the best advice you have ever received?
A. The best advice I ever received was from my father, when I was in high school and I had just got back from the job fair, very excited about the possibility of being a paralegal. He looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you be a lawyer?’
Q. If you could make only one more journey, where would you go?
A. South Africa.
Q. What profession would you like to practice in your next life?
A. I think I’d like to be a diplomat.
Q. What is your fondest childhood memory?
A. My father – this is going to sound silly, but every Saturday morning he would knock on my door and say, ‘Breakfast is served in the dining car.’
Q. What is your most prized material possession?
A. My wedding rings.
Q. What should you throw away but haven’t been able to part with?
A. A thousand things.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet?
A. Winston Churchill.
To read about Starr’s event with Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhán, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.