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Maria Teresa Kumar          

Political Rights Activist, President & CEO of Voto Latino, Emmy-Nominated MSNBC Contributor

Emmy-nominated MSNBC contributor María Teresa Kumar is the founding President and CEO of Voto Latino. Since 2004, Kumar has raised more than $75 million to grow Voto Latino into the U.S.’s largest Latinx voter registration and advocacy organization, directly registering more than 601,330 new voters leading into a 2020 election with 32 million eligible Latino voters up for grabs. In June 2020 alone, Kumar’s Voto Latino registered more than 100,000 voters.

With advertisers spending nearly $10 billion to reach the nation’s 60 million Hispanic consumers, whose median age is just 29.5 compared to 40.6 for non-Hispanics, Kumar’s pioneering use of technology, social media and celebrity to inspire transformative change in younger audiences led Fast Company to name her one of the most creative minds in global business and Elle to name her one of the 10 most influential women in Washington.

For building Voto Latino into a national election market mover, Campaigns and Elections named her an influencer to watch in shaping mid-term elections, Latino Leaders named her one of 2020’s 100 Most Influential Latinas, Hispanic Business named her one of the 100 most influential Latinos in America, the Hispanic Executive recognized her as one of its Top 10 Líderes and The Hispanic Heritage Foundation granted her its prestigious Leadership Award.

Winner of The Women’s Media Center’s Emerging Journalist Award, Kumar has made 400 appearances since 2011 on MSNBC alone.

Speech Topics


Building Movements: Leveraging Innovative and Creative Initiatives to Impact Change

Named by Fast Company as among the most 100 Creative Minds in Business Worldwide for her unique use of technology, media and celebrity to make transformative change and mobilizing the fastest growing group of Americans, Maria Teresa Kumar intimately understands how to utilize innovative approaches to build movements and bring people together. Under her leadership, Voto Latino launched the first ever national mobile voter registration campaign and directly registered over a quarter-million voters, while influencing countless more, during the 2008 election. In this presentation, Kumar shares with audiences how to utilize social networks, technology, and other viral sharing resources to build and maintain buzz – whether for products, services, campaigns, or social causes.

Our Changing America

In this well-informed, lively, and compelling presentation, Kumar addresses many of the issues driving our national discussion. From the ever-changing demographics in the U.S., to the business, economic, and political ramifications of such a shift. A reflection of her MSNBC show by the same name, Kumar engages audiences on some of the most important political, social, and economic topics facing us today.

Business Opportunities from the Largest Growing Consumer Market in the U.S.

With over $1.3 trillion dollars in purchasing power and a young, desirable demographic the growth opportunities for businesses are staggering. Kumar shares with audiences how this increasingly bi-lingual, 50 million plus Latino population within the U.S. presents enormous possibilities for organizations. Kumar illuminates audiences on how to embrace, cultivate, and cater to this unparalleled consumer base – and why organizations that do, will be far more prosperous than those that do not.

Politics, Policy, and Prosperity

From immigration to education, economic policy, voter registration, and congressional redistricting, these are just a few of the many paramount issues that come to mind when discussing perhaps the most dramatic shift in American demographic. Few people are more informed and better equipped to speak on the changing landscape of American society – and most importantly, what it means for political campaigns, elections, economic prosperity, and business growth – than Maria Teresa Kumar. Highly sought out by business leaders, economic advisors, and campaign managers alike, Kumar shares with audiences her deep understanding of these issues, and how to successfully navigate through such unprecedented change.

News


Is This The New America?
It's been difficult to follow the news during the past several months. Each night, Americans are painted a picture of a country plagued by xenophobic anxieties and narrow-minded potential leaders.
Voto Latino's Maria Teresa Kumar to Host 'Changing America ...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Voto Latino President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar will host "Changing America" on MSNBC's new portal of ...

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