Emmy-nominated, MSNBC contributor, founding President and CEO of Voto Latino.
About María Teresa
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.
Maria Teresa is a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Aspen Ideas Ideas Scholar, and served as the co-chair of the Aspen Taskforce on Learning.
Speaker
Maria Teresa has electrified global audiences and ignited groundbreaking policy debates across hundreds of thousands of YouTube views.
Her use of technology, social media and celebrities to inspire transformative change in younger audiences led Fast Company to name Maria Teresa one of the most creative minds in global business and Elle to name her one of the 10 most influential women in Washington.
For speaking opportunities, please contact Victoria Larsen at victoria@votolatino.org
Press
An Emmy nominee, Maria Teresa has reported some of the seminal news stories of the last fifteen years from the field, including the child internment camps at the border as they first became known to the public, gun violence, equalizing access to fair pay, reproductive justice, healthcare, expanding quality education opportunities and more.
She has appeared on MSNBC more than 400 times as a contracted on-air contributor for more than a decade, regularly appears on Meet the Press, Real Time with Bill Maher, NBC Nightly News and other national news programs and is a globally-quoted source in leading newspapers, on television and radio programs across the country.
Voto Latino
Voto Latino is a grassroots political organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters while creating a more robust and inclusive democracy. Through innovative digital campaigns, culturally relevant programs and authentic voices, Voto Latino shepherds the Latinx community towards full realization of its political power.
As the end of the 2020 election season approaches, Voto Latino is committed to a fully transparent and fair election. The organization has advocated for universal mail-in voting and expanded early voting days to ensure that all eligible voters are able to exercise their constitutional rights without jeopardizing their health in the midst of a global pandemic.