Maria Teresa Kumar

Maria Teresa Kumar is the founding President and CEO of Voto Latino, an Emmy-nominated contributor with MSNBC and former host for Changing America on msnbc.com. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. In 2013, Elle named her one of the 10 most influential women in Washington, DC. Washington Life Magazine named her the Power 100 in DC. A dynamic community leader, Maria Teresa was named by Hispanic Business among the 100 most influential Latinos in America. Fast Company called Maria Teresa one of the top 100 Creative Minds for her work at Voto Latino, using technology, celebrity voices, media and youth themselves to empower a generation of young voters. Under her leadership, Voto Latino has become a key factor in national elections by directly registering over a quarter million voters and influencing millions more through viral, celebrity-driven campaigns.

Maria Teresa serves on the national boards of Planned Parenthood, Emily's List and the Latino Leaders Network, and is a Hunt Alternative Fund Prime Mover and a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member. She is a frequent guest analyst on NPR and PBS, a recent panelist on Bill Maher’s HBO show, an opinion writer for national publications, and a sought after speaker at major conferences including GE, Prudential, Intel, SXSW, NetRoots Nation, Personal Democracy Forum, and TEDx. She started her career as a legislative aide for then Democratic Caucus Chair Vic Fazio, and graduated from Harvard’s Kennedy School and the University of California at Davis.