Maria Samaniego

Biography

María Samaniego is a nonprofit leader who has dedicated the last 18 years to improving access to opportunities in underserved communities and is deeply driven by a commitment to collective liberation. Prior to CNAY, she served as the inaugural Deputy Director at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute and Senior Program Manager for the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program. In these roles, she spearheaded fund development, programmatic and partnership efforts, ensuring the success of economic mobility and other issue area policy initiatives. María has held several roles with Voto Latino and Occidental College’s Neighborhood Partnership Program, where she led education, civic engagement and leadership development initiatives utilizing data driven best practices. She currently serves on the Advisory Council for Support Latino Business Day and previously served on the board for Viva Panama, a nonprofit focused on sharing the rich culture of Panama across the globe.