Latino Power Players

Frankie Miranda is the first openly gay president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation (HF), the nation’s premier Latino non-profit membership organization. Since joining HF in 1998, he has played a key role in expanding HF’s member network to include hundreds of community-based organizations that operate across the U.S. while also establishing critical programs that empower hundreds of thousands of Latinos. Frankie lives in Queens with his husband Ricardo and cat Valentina.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?
I would have encouraged my younger self to learn to breathe. I wasted so much time trying to fit in, being concerned with how I sounded, holding my breath. Growing up as a queer person made me a target of bullies. However, being queer is one of the reasons why I feel a deep sense of compassion, which has informed my leadership development and passion to help others. Being queer is your secret power, Frankie!

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
My heritage shapes every aspect of my life and leadership.  It is what helps me understand who I am, how I interpret the world around me and what keeps me grounded.  Only through understanding and celebrating our own heritage can we truly connect with, respect, and celebrate other identities and cultures.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
The proudest moment of my career is having the honor of becoming President and CEO of Hispanic Federation a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic and how we responded to the needs of our community, member and partner organizations. The team was quick to provide emergency relief to direct service providers and aid to our communities that were disproportionately affected by the virus, while also creating the largest Latino Covid-19 Emergency Fund in the country.

Luis A. Miranda, Jr. served in key roles for the Koch, Dinkins, and Giuliani administrations. As a founding partner of the MirRam Group, he consulted on noted political campaigns, including the senatorial campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand; and AG Letitia James’ reelection. Miranda is the founding president of the Hispanic Federation and is currently chairperson of the Latino Victory Fund, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Viva Broadway, and the Public Theater.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?
Be patient but determined, with a plan to get to your objective.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
My heritage fuels the engine that processes everything I do, think, or love.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Seeing my children Cita, Lin-Manuel, and Miguel succeed.

Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes serves the 51st Assembly District of New York,  representing Red Hook, Sunset Park and northern Bay Ridge. Assembly Member Mitaynes migrated to New York City from Peru as a child with her family and was raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She entered the political world when she was evicted from her rent-stabilized apartment of 30 years and has since been a staunch advocate for tenants rights and building power for the working class.

Franciso Moya is a NYC council member representing District 21. He was elected to the City Council in 2017. In 2003, Francisco became the highest-ranking Latino when he was named secretary to the senate for Senate Minority Leader David Paterson. In 2010, Francisco was elected to represent the 39th Assembly District, becoming the first Ecuadorian-American elected to public office in the United States. Franciso wrote and introduced the New York State DREAM Act in 2013 and Carlos’ Law.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Willets Point’s new neighborhood is my legacy. We’re bringing thousands of permanent/union jobs, the largest number of affordable housing units seen in four decades, a brand-new elementary school, and the first soccer stadium in NYC. This project is an economic engine for Queens and for New York City.

Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie is a Brooklyn native and affordable housing advocate serving the 20th Senate District. Since joining the Senate in 2019, Senator Myrie has served in leadership roles and won several major legislative victories, including New York’s strongest affordable housing and tenant protection laws in generations along with sweeping reforms to New York’s criminal legal system. As chair of the Elections Committee, Senator Myrie presided over historic election reforms including early voting, closing the LLC loophole, and simplifying the absentee ballot process.

Born in Panama, Sandy Nurse represents New York City’s 37th District encompassing Bushwick, Brownsville, Cypress Hills, Cityline, and East New York. Chairing the Criminal Justice Committee and co-chairing the Progressive Caucus, she leans into her activist roots to create change. Before joining the Council, she founded BK ROT, an environmental justice youth organization, and co-created Mayday Space. Now, she’s continuing the fight within the Council for criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and a sustainable city.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self that you belong in those rooms, you belong at those tables. Show up even when it feels uncomfortable. Don’t wait for anyone’s permission to trust yourself and take up space. Let your commitment to community lead you.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
Coming to understand my Latino heritage has been complex. Discovering late in life that my father was undocumented when he came to NYC, shifted my understanding of my family’s history. Because I am mixed race and my Spanish is choppy, my heritage is dynamic as opposed to stereotypical. Over time I’ve developed pride in my roots, in the legacy of Black workers who built Panama, and the Afrolatinos who fought hard to be acknowledged.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
I am proud of opening doors to local government that felt closed off to many. Delivering for the Latino communities of the 37th District and solving problems residents face – from illegal lockouts to unsafe living conditions, I am reminded of what local government should be about. I find purpose and power in making people believe in local government again and shifting how our community engages with our political system that has, historically, failed them.

Born in The Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez worked as a grassroots activist before becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives  in 2018. She is fighting for a powerful set of policy solutions that will reshape our economy, invest in working class families and communities, tackle the effects of climate change, and ensure health care and affordable housing are human rights – not privileges just for the wealthiest to enjoy. Alexandria serves as the vice ranking member on the Oversight and Reform Committee, and she is currently in her third term as a U.S. Representative representing parts of The Bronx and Queens.

Ana Oliveira’s unwavering commitment to improving the lives of those in greatest need enabled The New York Women’s Foundation to increase grantmaking from $1.7M to approximately $10M annually to benefit over 6M women and girls across NYC. Throughout her career, Ana has been a thought leader on issues of social and economic inequity, gender, and criminal justice, leading cross-sectoral partnerships to advance justice and serving on the Independent Commission to study Criminal Justice Reform in NYC.

If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?
My advice for my younger self would be to be authentic, to believe, and to act on what I value and love.  To keep perspective, to work passionately for my beliefs, and to find joy and possibility in the hardest moments.

How has your heritage shaped the person you are today?
My Latina heritage has given me courage, determination, and joy. It has inspired me to have faith and deeply know that I am always part of others: family, friends, colleagues, community!

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
My proudest moment is still to come: I feel I am at the service of justice and others, so the road is still ahead!

Jason brings 20 years of experience in lobbying, communications and elections. He has won major New York campaigns for the Innocence Project, Vera Institute, Drug Policy Alliance, New York Hotel Trades Council, and others. Jason engineered legislative and electoral victories as director of political and strategic affairs for the New York Hotel Trades Council and still provides the union with political and communications counsel. He co-led the 2021 Super PAC supporting Eric Adams for Mayor.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
In 2019, I worked with criminal justice reform advocates, labor unions, and other groups to pass bail reform in Albany. These reforms kept low-income New Yorkers out of pretrial detentions on Rikers Island, reunited them with their families, and ended decades of counterproductive, racist criminal legal practices – all without any meaningful impact on public safety. Our campaign overcame entrenched and well-funded opposition to pass the most important criminal justice reform in a generation.

As executive director of Women’s Justice NOW, Ms. Ossorio has led WJN in advancing women’s rights at home, work and in the courts. She has led legislative campaigns, spearheaded coalitions and been a key leader in statewide efforts to ban child marriage, codify Roe v. Wade, enact no-fault divorce and help propel women to elected office.  She launched the Women of Power & Influence Network and partnered with IBM ​to produce​ “Dismantling the Glass”.