‘My world started out in Idaho:’ Governor names new director of Commission on Hispanic Affairs

The Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs' new Executive Director Annette Tipton presents on health care to Blue Cross of Idaho in Twin Falls. (Courtesy of Blue Cross of Idaho)

At 16 years old, Annette Tipton went to an early iteration of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs’ youth events. 

She talked with students from around Idaho, learned about regional universities and even won scholarships for speech and talent competitions. 

In May, Idaho Gov. Brad Little appointed her as the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs’ new executive director. She looks forward to building on the agency’s work and mentoring a new generation of young professionals.

“I hope in some way, I’ll be able to inspire, to mentor, to guide — whether it’s young people in high school starting their college careers, or those who are young professionals looking to increase their capacity and to augment what they’re doing in their careers as a newly young professional,” Tipton told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview. “… It’s that sense of paying it forward.”

Idaho Hispanic commission director retires after 28 years with agency

Tipton is taking over the agency after its longtime executive director, Margie Gonzalez, retired after nearly three decades. The non-partisan state agency gathers and publishes statistics, bridges community and government entities, provides recommendations to policymakers and hosts youth summits. 

She most recently worked for the Idaho State Controller’s Office. She also ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the Idaho Legislature last year, challenging Boise Democratic Rep. Steve Berch. 

In a statement, Little said he’s confident Tipton will serve Idaho’s Hispanic community well.

“Idaho’s Hispanic community is an integral part of the fabric of our state. For decades, Margie Gonzalez served Hispanic Idahoans and the state with remarkable dedication,” the governor said. “I am confident Annette will continue this legacy, building on the growth and energy within the community and serving Hispanic Idahoans with that same commitment.”

Last month, Little announced Idaho State Police would partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to transport immigrants who are convicted of a crime and are not authorized to be in the U.S. to ICE detention centers for deportation.

Asked how the Idaho Commission of Hispanic Affairs will represent Idaho’s immigrant community, Tipton said agency officials will be available to refer community members who need resources to other groups, like the Mexican Consulate Office or the ACLU.

“We don’t handle those things. But we are more than happy to connect to people who need support and to be directed to where they need to go. That’s the type of support our office is able to offer,” Tipton told the Sun.

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‘My world started out in Idaho’

Tipton grew up in southern Idaho’s Rupert, raised by migrant farmworkers, she told the Sun. 

One of the things her mom “always instilled in her girls was hard work, service and education,” Tipton said. “It was never a question of if we were going on to college; it was when we do.”

She went on to work for U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and for large financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and CIT Group Inc. 

Then she met her husband and returned to Idaho. 

Annette Tipton is the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs’ new executive director. She’s taking over the agency after its longtime leader retired in January. (Courtesy of Annette Tipton)

“My world started out in Idaho, and I’ve come back home to do what I can here more locally — to serve our community overall,” Tipton said. 

Along the way, she also volunteered with the Idaho Hispanic Caucus, the Idaho Latino Scholarship Foundation and worked for a year in outreach and enrollment for Terry Reilly Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Idaho. 

In May 2020, Tipton joined the Idaho State Controller’s Office. She worked there for nearly five years, with Idaho’s largest cities and counties and some of the smallest local government entities — special districts for mosquito, sewer and water, she told the Sun.

At the State Controller’s Office, she led Idaho’s establishment of a statewide integrated data system called Insight Idaho. But whenever other work came up, she was quick to help, Idaho Deputy Controller John Iasonides told the Sun in an interview.

She was instrumental in helping Idaho deploy over $1 billion in federal CARES Act funding that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. 

“I always like to use the term a great utility player,” Iasonides said. “Because it didn’t matter if her main focus was the Insight Idaho project. If we needed something, some help with something else … I could call on her and she could jump into it really easy.”

He described Tipton as a driven person who works well with limited guidance and “prides herself on doing good work.”

“She’s very much, like, ‘Just good enough is not enough’” Iasonides said.

Idaho’s Hispanic population is younger. Tipton eyes opportunities for mentorship.

Tipton is already planning the agency’s next youth summit events. She wants to continue publishing statistics through the agency’s Hispanic profile data book. And the agency is undergoing a rebranding effort that involves a website overhaul, a new mission and logos, she said.

In academics and her professional career, Tipton said she leaned on guidance from mentors. That’s part of what she hopes to bring into her new role as agency director.

“A lot of why I believe this office has had success in the past is because of that capacity to let people know that we’re a resource for them,” Tipton said. 

Idaho’s Hispanic population is largely younger than the rest of Idaho’s population, with about 39% of Hispanics under age 20 compared to about a quarter of Idaho’s non-Hispanic residents, according to the commission’s 2024 report. 

“Whether it’s myself, (or) people on the commission — how do we mentor again our young people, our young professionals?” Tipton said. “And polish them, guide them, champion them, and give them those opportunities for them to grow and expand their capacity.”

She also thinks there’s opportunities to weave in best practices she’s learned along the way, like from her experience in investment banking and corporate finance. 

“I learned a lot about why it is those institutions are successful, or they have a bottom line that has proven to be successful,” Tipton said. “And for me, coming into the public sector space, I want to be able to to implement those same types of principles: How do we show our value? How do we show, in numbers, the success — how we’re moving the needle?”

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