NALAC Announces 2021 Advocacy Fellows

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures announces this year's cohort of artists and cultural workers participating in its annual Advocacy Leadership Institute (ALI). Since 2009, NALAC has traveled to Washington D.C. each year to advocate on behalf of artists and the nonprofit arts field.

Due to the pandemic, this year's gathering will take place online in March and April 2021. With the support of faculty and staff, fellows will participate in a series of preparatory webinars laying the groundwork for a virtual advocacy intensive where fellows will meet with congressional leaders and staff from federal agencies working in cultural policy.

"While they work across various approaches and mediums, this year's fellows share a commitment to building a more equitable arts field and uphold creativity as a powerful tool for social justice," said Monica A. Sosa, Program Manager of Leadership Institutes at NALAC. Through the course of the program, fellows will sharpen their individual advocacy priorities and plans in preparation for virtual DC meetings.

The twenty-one fellows represent communities in Arizona, California, Connecticut, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute is made possible in part thanks to support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Southwest Airlines, Surdna Foundation, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute, 2021 Fellows

Amber Rose Jimenez, Race Forward (Seattle, WA)
Angelica D. Gorrio, Marinera CT (Stamford, CT)
Arturo Martinez, Tarrant County College District (Fort Worth, TX)
Ben Cuevas, Artist (Los Angeles, CA)
Brianna Lynn Hernández Baurichter, Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) (West Allis, WI)
Diana Ramos Gutiérrez, Vieques Film and Human Rights Festival (Vieques, PR)
Estefanía Fadul, Theatre Director & Producer (Brooklyn, NY)
George Reyes, LAUSD Laurel Cinematic Arts and Creative Technologies Magnet (West Hollywood, CA)
Gregory Youdan Jr., Dance/NYC (New York, NY)
Héctor Flores Jr., New York Theatre Barn (New York, NY)
Josuè Ramírez / Rawmirez, Trucha RGV (McAllen, TX)
Kristal Sotomayor, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (Zelionople, PA)
Mark Steel Wool Salinas, Public Art Consultant (Reno, NV)
Melissa San Miguel, Independent Researcher (San Francisco, CA)
Norma Chairez-Hartell, Murals of Las Cruces / Las Cruces City Museums (Las Cruces, NM)
Philip Alejo, Fred Fox School of Music, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)
Reynaldo Piniella, Actor, Writer and Director (Brooklyn, NY)
Ruby Morales, CONTRA-TIEMPO (Glendale, AZ)
Soldanela Rivera / Sol, Communications Executive and Producer (Bronx, NY)
Tizziana Baldenebro, SPACES (Cleveland, OH)
Zuly Inirio, Afro-Dominican Soprano & Activist (Pittsburgh, PA)

For more information about NALAC and its programs please visit www.nalac.org.

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