Liz Rebecca Alarcón is a social entrepreneur and political analyst. She's the Founder & Executive Director of Pulso, an outlet that shares Latino history you didn't learn in school and commentary you won't find anywhere else. Liz's writing and commentary on Latin America and Latinos in the U.S. has been featured on MSNBC, USA Today, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The Miami Herald & El Nuevo Herald, among others. She's a former Fulbright Scholar to Costa Rica and an alum of the University of Miami and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  Liz Rebecca lives in Miami with her husband, Julián, their daughter, Eva, and unnecessarily large dog, Papriko.

Antonio Arellano is a modern civil rights leader, currently serving as the Vice President of Communications at NextGen America, the country's largest youth voting mobilization organization. Antonio oversees the implementation of a national strategy to increase the progressive power of young Americans in politics, advancing the organization's priority issues including economic equity, climate justice, and voting rights.

Rudy Espinoza is the Executive Director of Inclusive Action for the City, a community development organization designing innovations to responsibly revitalize low-income, urban areas. At Inclusive Action, he leads advocacy efforts in support of the working poor and microfinance programs that support microentrepreneurs.

Rudy specializes in designing economic development initiatives in low-income communities, researching the informal economy, building private/nonprofit partnerships, and training the working poor to participate in the socioeconomic revitalization of their neighborhoods.

Angela currently serves as the Executive Director for North America at Climate Group. She brings over two decades of political and policy management experience, including several years in problem-solving, campaign-driven, solutions-focused work on climate, clean energy, clean cars and protecting natural resources, most recently as Undersecretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.

Prior to CNRA, Angela served as Chief Executive for River LA, Deputy Chief of Staff at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and led climate and environment outreach for the Obama White House as Associate Director for Public Engagement of the White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Angela’s extensive climate, policy and strategic management skills help Climate Group to strengthen partnerships and networks across sectors to drive impact at this urgent moment. Her strong leadership experience helps focus Climate Group North America on accountability and comprehensive emissions reductions that create a more prosperous future for all. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Environmental & Conservation Biology and is based out of Washington, D.C. with her husband and two children.

Lisa García Bedolla is a political scientist whose research focuses on Latine political

engagement. She is a professor at UC Berkeley and serves as President of Data for Social Good, a data analytics company that provides data for and conducts research with community-based organizations engaged in mobilization efforts in low income communities of color.
 

She has published six books and dozens of research articles, earning five national book awards and numerous other awards. She has consulted for presidential campaigns and statewide ballot efforts and has partnered with dozens of community organizations working to empower low-income communities of color. Through those partnerships, she has developed a set of best practices for engaging and mobilizing Latine voters, becoming one of the nation’s foremost experts on Latine political engagement.

Professor García Bedolla earned her PhD in political science from Yale University and her BA in Latin American Studies and Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley.

Veronica Garibay immigrated from Michoacan, Mexico, at a young age with her family. She grew up in the small farmworker city of Parlier in Fresno County. As a first-generation college student, Veronica attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology, and Law and Society.

Upon graduation, Veronica joined the California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.’s Community Equity Initiative as the program’s first Community Worker. Veronica earned a Master of Public Administration from Fresno State. As co-founder and co-director of Leadership Counsel, Veronica leads the team in advocating for sound policy to ensure equal access to opportunity for all Californians.

Mayra E. Alvarez, MHA, is President of The Children’s Partnership, a nonprofit advocacy

organization working to advance child health equity by ensuring all children have the resources and opportunities they need to grow up healthy and thrive. In 2021, she was named by President Biden to the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. In 2023, she was nominated by California Governor Gavin Newsom to serve on the Covered California Board of Directors, and in 2019, to serve on the Early Childhood Policy Council. Since 2017, Ms. Alvarez has served on the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC), nominated by Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2021 and previously by then-Attorney General

Xavier Becerra in 2017.

Astrid Dominguez is a Brownsville native and resident, first-generation immigrant and fronteriza.  She is the current Executive Director of Good Neighbor Settlement House, a multi service non-profit dedicated to serve community members in need, particularly unsheltered people, low-income residents, and migrants.

Dr. Frances Colón serves on the Harris-Biden Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is the Senior Fellow for International Climate Policy at Center for American Progress where she leads a program to drive international ambition and action to meet the climate crisis.

Colón is the former Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State where she promoted integration of science and technology into foreign policy dialogues, global advancement of women in science, and climate policy for President Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. 

Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2004 from Brandeis University and her B.S. in Biology in 1997 from the University of Puerto Rico.  Colón was a City of Miami Climate Resilience Committee member and a 2020 Yale-OpEd Project Public Voices on the Climate Crisis Fellow.  She is the Chair of the Miami Freedom Project Board of Directors and a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Roundtable on Science Diplomacy.

Eric Holguin was born and raised in South Texas where he completed his undergraduate

degree at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. After graduation, Eric relocated to New York City where he worked for former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and the New York City Comptroller.

In 2017, Eric relocated back to South Texas where he got involved in his local

community and in Texas politics as a candidate for office. During his time in South Texas he was President of a LGBTQIA+ LULAC Chapter, successfully fought 2021 Texas legislation that would erase minority civil rights icons from public school textbooks, was an instrumental member of the advocacy team of getting the PACT Act signed into law in 2022 by President Biden which expands veteran healthcare – and was invited by President Biden to the White

House for the bill signing.

He previously worked to expand access to early head start programs for children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. A 2022 graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin where he got his Master of Public Affairs, Eric now serves as the Texas

State Director for UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza) where he is working across

the state to uplift Latino communities in education, healthcare, civic engagement, economically, and more.

Most recently, he was instrumental in helping stop school voucher legislation in the Texas Legislature by being a resource for Texas Legislators. Separate from his work, he helps

advise the now Harris Campaign (formerly Biden Campaign) on issues facing Latinos in Texas and regularly is invited to the White House to provide insight on issues facing Latinos. He was also elected to be a National Delegate to the DNC Convention in Chicago this year (2024).

José Alfaro, a first-generation Salvadoran-American, has made history as the first Latino to head a national gun violence prevention organization, Community Justice. His leadership has broken barriers and brought a unique perspective to the forefront. Community Justice now stands as the sole national gun violence prevention organization led by a person of color, with a specific focus on communities of color. José’s work is deeply rooted in an anti-racist, community-centered approach integrating movement building, policy advocacy, and electoral campaigns.

Beginning his career as a community educator in Baltimore, José has consistently focused on empowering marginalized communities. He has worked extensively with adolescents in Washington, D.C., addressing youth advocacy, dismantling toxic masculinity, and promoting empowerment. His efforts in Connecticut include organizing parents for education reform and equitable school funding. José’s political work spans several successful campaigns at the state level, and his leadership in Latinx grassroots organizing has been recognized with his inclusion in Connecticut Magazine's 40 Under 40 Innovative Leaders list in 2017.

At the national level, José managed Latinx organizing programs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where he led initiatives that advanced reproductive rights and mobilized Latinx voters. Before going to Community Justice, Jose served as the Director of Latinx Leadership and Engagement at Everytown for Gun Safety, further amplifying Latinx voices affected by gun violence across the United States.

José is a Hispanics in Philanthropy Lideres Fellow, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) 's board of advisors, and a Board Director at A Better Way Foundation in New Haven, Connecticut. He was also named a 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival Fellow for his transformative leadership.

José holds a B.S. in Psychology from Morgan State University and an M.A. in Social Justice and Conflict Resolution from SIT Graduate Institute. He and his wife reside in Takoma Park, Maryland, with their dachshund puppy, Filomena.