Thirty years ago this week the U.S. Congress created a foundation to remember Mike Mansfield, the former U.S. senator from Montana and Majority Leader of the Senate from 1961-1977.

The beauty of the American Dream is that no one has a claim to it, but everyone has a stake in it.  Success in this country doesn’t stem from a face or a name – it stems from a contribution. Good ideas rise; hard workers are promoted; and our society reaps the rewards for providing the greatest upward mobility in the world. As Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) meet with President Obama this week, promoting opportunity for all is chief on our agenda.

Recently, much attention has been paid to the question of whether women should – as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg put it in her recent book – “lean in” more in the workplace. A separate piece in The Atlantic prompted women across the nation to ask, “can women have it all?”

In other words, can women achieve the pinnacle of success in both their family lives and careers?

While the discussion of finding the balance between work life and personal life is certainly important, this question, in my view, misses the point.

For those of you who, like me, live far from the Washington Beltway, you may not until recently have been familiar with the junior senator from New York. It’s time we all are.

When Hillary Clinton resigned from the U.S. Senate to become secretary of State in 2009, such renowned names as Caroline Kennedy, Andrew Cuomo and several others were bandied about as possible appointees to fill the vacated seat. Among the lesser known names was Kirsten Gillibrand. Fortunately, substance trumped celebrity.

Since she was appointed to fill the seat — and subsequently won reelection in 2012 – Gillibrand has displayed several essential leadership skills often lacking among politicians today.