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Moderator: Arlety González Chile |
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Clarissa Martinez De Castro Clarissa Martinez De Castro is passionate about strengthening civil society. As Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza), she leads efforts to elevate the importance of conducting continuous, year-round voter empowerment and engagement activity. Clarissa is a frequent media commentator on the Latino electorate and immigration issues. She also designed and led the Rise Above campaign, an initiative to build a positive, accurate narrative of our changing America in order to foster collaborative action. A U.S. Vote Foundation board member, a 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a Nantucket Project 2015 Catalyst Fellow, Clarissa holds a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College. |
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Susan Collins Susan Collins, Senior Director of the Legislative and Political Affairs Department, leads and supports the Legislative team to build and nurture relationships with Congress, the federal government, and state leaders to provide relevant and timely information about public policy issues that matter to the Latino community. Headquartered in Washington, DC, UnidosUS is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations, UnidosUS reaches millions of Hispanics each year in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Ms. Collins leads her team within the office and on Capitol Hill, where they lobby on behalf of UnidosUS’ policy priorities. Her extensive experience includes the ability to establish strong and effective relationships, set clear policy and legislative priorities, and negotiate for strategic problem solving. Prior to joining UnidosUS, Susan was the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Partnership for new Americans, before which she spent nearly twenty years in the office of Congressman Luis V. Gutiérrez, serving as Legislative Director and Chief of Staff. Collins spent her early career with local organizations in Texas, focusing on the health, education, development, and wellbeing of the Latino community. |
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Eric Rodriguez Eric Rodriguez, UnidosUS Senior Vice President, oversees the Office of Policy and Advocacy which is charged with directing the organization’s legislative affairs, public policy research, policy analysis, and field advocacy work. He is responsible for the UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza) federal and state legislative priorities and agenda. Mr. Rodriguez has extensive experience overseeing the UnidosUS public policy and advocacy activities on a wide range of issues. His background includes work on such issues as tax policy, Social Security reform, welfare reform, workforce development, retirement security, as well as housing, and financial market regulations. He has authored, coauthored, and supervised the preparation of several dozen policy and research reports, journal articles, and editorials. He has also frequently testified at congressional hearings and has represented UnidosUS at research conferences, policy conferences, and symposia. Prior to UnidosUS, Mr. Rodriguez was a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow and served in U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez’s (D–NY) office. Mr. Rodriguez holds a master’s degree in public administration from American University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Siena College. Mr. Rodriguez is originally from Red Hook, Brooklyn. |
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