Susie Altamirano recently joined hosts Sam and Haley on the “Ladies Who Law” podcast to discuss her unconventional journey from growing up in a family of hairdressers to becoming a City Attorney. During the conversation, Susie discusses overcoming early setbacks, building experience political consulting, and ultimately becoming a City Attorney.
In the episode titled “From Hair Salon to City Attorney: Susie Altamirano’s Unconventional Path to Law,” Susie describes how she initially felt that she was destined to follow in her parents’ footsteps by attending barber school and ultimately working for the family business. She recounts later having a pivotal conversation with her father in which he encouraged her to pursue her true calling of completing higher education. “You’re not giving it your all to being a barber,” Susie recounts her dad saying. “I can see you want to go to college.”
From there, Susie’s journey was far from a straight line. After attending community college, she went on to complete a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University. “While I was in community college, I ended up doing two internships in Washington D.C. and got bit by the political bug of sorts. It really opened my eyes as a 20-year-old at the time. My gosh, there’s a whole world out there.” Susie recalls.
Her path eventually led to a role in the executive writing unit for the Governor of California, where she experienced government affairs from behind the scenes that ignited her desire to learn the “rules of the game” and earn a seat at the decision-making table. From there, she attended law school at Western State University College of Law.
Susie faced setbacks on the bar exam, but rather than give up, she chose to pivot and began working in taxation before taking the leap to launch her own political consulting firm. “I went back to what I really enjoyed. I put that on the table and knew one day I’ll go back to take the law exam again.” There, she managed political campaigns to hone her expertise in election regulations. She later retook and passed the bar exam to enter public agency law.
Today, as a partner at Olivarez Madruga Law Organization LLP (OMLO), Susie guides city councils through complex municipal matters such as land use, code enforcement, and public transparency. Reflecting on her leadership, she also emphasizes the critical need for greater representation in municipal law. “For a female, particularly for a woman of color or Latina, we’re at the 1% of these positions. I find it interesting but also inspiring because there’s a lot of opportunity in this field.”