New American Leaders is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that recruits people of

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

heritage to run for

elected office An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Programs

Through "Ready to Win", New American Leaders recruits first- and second-generation Americans to run for public office, and provides training to help get them elected including topics such as fundraising, navigating campaigns, and leveraging their identities to connect with broad voter bases. The training includes discussions of

American values American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, identity, and

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

. The goal of electing officials with immigrant heritage is to elevate the discussion of immigration in the United States, and for elected officials to reflect the reality that one in four U.S. citizens is an immigrant or a child of immigrants. According to the organization's 2019 study of the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

, naturalized citizens make up hundreds of thousands of eligible voters in so-called swing states and could prove influential in

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

History

New American Leaders was founded in 2010 by

Sayu Bhojwani Sayu Bhojwani was the first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs of New York City. She also founded South Asian Youth Action, and the New American Leaders. Career Bhojwani moved to New York City in 1987 as a student at Teachers College, Columbi ...

. From 2011 to 2015, 33 alumni of its trainings ran for elected office, of whom ten won their races, and others took positions in public service. In 2016, the organization led its first all-female training in New York. In 2018, nearly 50 alumni ran for public office across the country, of whom 18 won their races in state assemblies, city councils and school boards.

Catalina Cruz Catalina Cruz (born 1982/1983) is a Colombians, Colombian-Americans, American attorney from the borough of Queens in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and former undocumented immigrant (DREAM Act, ...

credits the training as having helped her raise nearly $200,000 in her successful primary bid for

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

representing

Jackson Heights, Queens Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, northern Astoria ( Ditmars-Steinw ...

in 2018, becoming the first DREAMer elected to that legislative body. As of April 2019, the organization had trained more than 600 candidates in eight states, not only focusing on political races where the racial composition is favorable to a particular minority. In September 2019, the organization launched "Boss Ladies" trainings for young women to serve as staff on political campaigns. In January 2020, New American Leaders received a three-year grant of $1.5 million from the Ascend Fund to recruit and train women candidates.

Notable alumni

* Isela Blanc *

Stephanie Chang Stephanie Gray Chang is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Michigan Senate, representing the 1st district. She previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 6th District, in the Michigan House of Represen ...

Carlos Menchaca Carlos Menchaca (born September 11, 1980) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York City Council for the 38th district. He is a Democrat. His district included the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwo ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.newamericanleaders.org/ Non-profit organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 2010 2010 establishments in the United States