Empowering Latinas: 5 Leaders Transforming Communities

Genny Castillo

Genny Castillo is the Deputy Director of the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) and is known for her leadership in policy and community engagement. Since January 2024, Genny has led SEAP in its mission to support innovative policy research and bridge gaps across the South. Her role involves connecting communities with crucial resources and driving impactful local programming.

SEAP is dedicated to addressing pressing regional issues, with a focus on addressing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on Southern communities, ensuring all Southerners have access to basic needs like food, housing, and transportation. SEAP also advocates for policies that promote healthy living and access to quality care.

Genny’s career is defined by her dedication to public service and leadership. Before her current role, she served as the Regional Engagement Director for SEAP from 2019 to 2024 and was the COO of the BLUE Institute, which trains young people of color for leadership in electoral campaigns. Genny’s experience includes her impactful role as the Latinx Constituency Director for the Democratic Party of Georgia during the 2018 campaign cycle, and as Director of Caucus Services, she developed a highly successful state legislative caucus internship program.

This dynamic Latina has made empowering and elevating her community the center of her professional life, leaving a lasting impact for generations to come.

Maria Urbina

Maria Urbina, Managing Director of Indivisible and of Nicaraguan descent, has made major strides in progressive politics. Her role at Indivisible, a movement born out of resistance to the Trump agenda, highlights her lifetime commitment to grassroots activism and political reform.

Indivisible is a grassroots movement made up of everyday people determined to reshape American democracy to be more inclusive. It started as the “Indivisible Guide,” a Google doc that explained how to resist Trump’s agenda in 2016. Since then, it has grown into a nationwide movement where members come together in their local communities to call representatives, go to rallies, etc. While small, their actions build up a lot of political power at the local level to move the needle. The overall goal is to build a democracy that reflects the interests of everyone, not just the interests of a powerful few.

Maria's career is marked by her strategic and impactful roles in politics. Before joining Indivisible, she was Vice President of Politics and Campaigns at Voto Latino, overseeing national campaigns and voter engagement. Her experience also includes seven years as a senior advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- NV) and various political engagement roles in Senate races and President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Her expertise in strategy, messaging, and policy, especially for Latinx, AAPI, and immigrant communities, earns her regular appearances on news channels like MSNBC and Univision, making her one of the few Latina faces we see on broadcast news But through sustained representation for Latinx voices, Maria’s example provides hope that more will follow in her footsteps.

Sarah Audelo

Sarah Audelo’s career reflects her unwavering dedication to youth empowerment and social justice. As the former Executive Director of the Alliance for Youth Action, Sarah led the nation’s largest youth grassroots organizing network, focusing on building political power among young people across the United States.

The Alliance for Youth Action is renowned for its work in empowering young people, particularly those from marginalized communities, to take on leadership roles, promoting involvement in political processes and advocacy, and addressing economic justice, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and more.

Sarah’s career includes serving as Hillary Clinton’s Millennial Vote Director in the 2016 election and working with organizations like Advocates for Youth and Generation Progress. After graduating from Georgetown University, she began her career as a special education teacher with Teach for America in the Rio Grande Valley.

Currently, Sarah is the Deputy Advocacy Director at the Open Society Foundations, where she supports global efforts for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. This makes Sarah one of the few Latinas in a decision-making position in the philanthropy world. To put that into perspective, according to the 2022 Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals Report, only an estimated 6.6% of Latinos hold board positions in philanthropy, compared to 52.8% of white people in those positions.

Her work at Open Society Foundations continues to advance bold, democratic solutions to critical challenges, especially in marginalized communities that are historically underinvested in by philanthropy. To that point, a 2022 survey titled “Financial Challenges of Nonprofits Serving People of Color,” found that nonprofits serving or led by people of color face greater financial struggles due to lower funding from donations and grants.

“Our study pushes the field to acknowledge that the nonprofit sector is not race-neutral and understanding the racial/ethnic barriers at the institutional level is key to addressing the issues of under-resourced POC nonprofits. The structural barriers make it necessary for interventions at the institutional level because it is harder for individual nonprofits or leaders to overcome resource challenges,” stated authors Mirae Kim and Bo Li.

Yadira Sanchez

Yadira Sanchez is a prominent Mexican advocate for Latinx civic empowerment, serving as the Executive Director and co-founder of Poder Latinx. This organization is dedicated to building Latinx political power through innovative strategies and community engagement. They do this by getting people involved in voting, educating them about important issues, and developing young leaders who can drive real change in their communities. They started as a small team in Florida, but they now have a presence in states like Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Washington.

The Poder Latinx mission is to build a country where the Latino community is represented and their voices are heard, so they help Latinos become informed advocates for justice and democracy. This way, no matter what challenges they face, the community can stand strong and protected.

Yadira’s previous role as Development Director for Mi Familia Vota involved raising over 20 million dollars for the organization and expanding their partnerships to boost civic participation. Her leadership includes experience serving on the boards of nonprofits like Dialogue on Diversity, dedicated to social and political advancement; Family Values @ Work Action, dedicated to building political power among marginalized voters; and Western Resource Advocates, dedicated to fighting the climate crisis.

Yadira’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. She was recognized as a 2021 American Express Ngen Fellow and a 40 under 40 honoree by the American Association of Political Consultants. Yadira’s only getting started. She has many more years ahead of her for her leadership to continue to shape the future of Latinx civic engagement and political power.

Tory Gavito

Victoria "Tory" Gavito is a trailblazer in political strategy and advocacy, known for her role as President of Way to Win. This national hub for donors uses a data-informed approach to political funding, aiming to advance transformative policies to build lasting structural power for marginalized communities.

Way to Win’s work is focused on strengthening political infrastructure by investing in grassroots organizations at the state level, promoting policies that drive social and economic equity, and shaping public discourse to support progressive causes. Their mission is to disrupt conventional politics by connecting funders and organizers, addressing systemic issues, and leveraging a broad network for meaningful change in ways that are creative, efficient, and ultimately, transformative.

As if building an entirely new funding organization wasn’t enough, Tory’s career also includes founding the Texas Future Project and the Texas Future Project Research Center, where she led the development of strategies to put Texas on a pathway to becoming a battleground state and thus, competitive for Democrats to be able to win local, state, and federal elections there. Her background as an attorney advocating for workers’ rights and her inspiration from her grandmother, an immigrant from Mexico, underscores her dedication to movement-building and explains what fuels her fire - reasons that many Latinas can relate to.

Did you miss an installment of the Latinas Who Lead series? Make sure to catch up and find even more inspiring Latinas:

5 Latina Activists Disrupting the Political Status Quo

5 Latina Activists Achieving Transformative Change

5 Latine LGBTQ+ Game Changers

5 Trailblazing Latinas Who Paved the Way