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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Aquí: The Accountability Movement unveiled the third cohort of its Speakers Bureau, an expanded, high-impact group of established Latino community leaders ready to shape national narratives, meet the growing demand for culturally fluent expertise, and help close the long-standing representation gaps across America’s newsrooms and public stages. ​

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Latinos remain severely underrepresented in media and across the nation’s most visible public forums, conferences, panels, hearings, op-ed pages, podcasts, and digital platforms. Despite being one of the country’s most influential voting blocs and cultural forces, Latino voices are still too often absent from national conversations. The Aquí Speakers Bureau meets this critical need by offering newsrooms, event organizers, civic institutions, and movement spaces - something urgently needed: credible, diverse, bilingual experts with deep local insight, national relevance, and proven records of impact.

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These leaders are established practitioners, organizers, scholars, and innovators whose lived experience and professional expertise bring unmatched nuance to the issues shaping the nation.

 

The 2026 cohort includes award-winning community experts working across education, workers’ rights, public health, Latino and immigrant mental health, technology, environmental justice, disaster response, veterans’ issues, and economic justice. Together, they bring decades of experience bridging lived experience with institutional power, transforming community insight into national impact, and providing a trusted, highly relevant bench of voices on the issues shaping today’s headlines. 

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Despite making up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, Latinos remain largely invisible in the nation’s news ecosystem. A recent UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute analysis of 13 million news articles published between March 2020 and October 2023 found that Latinos appeared in only about 2% of daily newspaper coverage during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being disproportionately affected. The report further shows that even when Latino communities were central to an issue, their voices, perspectives, and expertise were rarely quoted or centered. This persistent gap in who journalists treat as credible sources has profound consequences for public understanding and policy debates. 

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“Latinos are shaping the future of this country’s economy, workforce, culture, and democracy, yet our voices are still erased from the platforms that influence public opinion. When our community isn’t quoted, seen, or recognized as experts, the story of this country becomes incomplete,” said Sindy Benavides, Executive Director of Aquí. “This new cohort comes directly from our beloved community. They are leaders rooted in the field, accountable to their people, and ready to bring the clarity, perspective, and truth that this moment demands.” 

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The new cohort of Aquí Speakers Bureau includes:  

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• Dr. Cheryl Aguilar, PhD, LICSW – Expert in public health, Latino and immigrant mental health, family separation and reunification, culturally responsive care, and social work.

• Nalleli Cobo – Expert in environmental justice, environmental health, youth organizing, community advocacy, and urban oil extraction.

• Montserrat Garibay – Expert in bilingual education, labor rights, immigrant rights, public education leadership, and federal education policy.

• Jessica Martinez – Expert in immigration policy, unaccompanied children, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), immigration detention issues, and local and New Mexico state immigration policy.

• Tristeza Ordex – Expert in veteran advocacy, bilingual voter engagement, grassroots organizing, Latino outreach, progressive campaigns, and criminal justice reform.

• Silvia Paz – Expert in environmental justice, economic development, education equity, community-led policy, and critical mineral extraction.

• Angelica “Angie” Quirarte – Expert in digital government, public-sector innovation, tech talent strategy, service delivery, open data and accessibility, and crisis response.

• Francisco Sánchez Jr. – Expert in emergency management, crisis leadership, disaster recovery, resilience planning, economic development, and public-sector transformation.

• Dr. Gabriela Sandoval, PhD – Expert in wealth inequality, racial wealth disparities, tax policy, energy justice, energy regulation, economic justice, personal finance, and race and voting rights.

• Dr. Ilan Shapiro – Expert in pediatrics, public health, preventive care, health equity, and family health communication. 

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​These leaders are ready today to appear on broadcast, radio, digital platforms, podcasts, panels, and major convenings nationwide, bringing the depth, nuance, and expertise this moment demands. 

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Aquí: The Accountability Movement is a nonpartisan culture-defending and media-monitoring accountability organization advocating for the 60 million Latinos who live, work in, and build the United States. Through high-impact campaigns, strategic partnerships, and harnessing the economic power of millions of constituents, Aquí holds bad actors accountable by fighting the exclusion and invisibility of Latino people in national narratives and positions of power, demanding fair and accurate portrayals of Latinos as well as greater representation, and defending against harmful attacks, stereotypes, and demagoguery. 

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