Cristina López
Cristina López is President of the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI), the premier non-profit organization dedicated to developing Hispanas/Latinas as ethical leaders through training, professional development, relationship building and community and world activism.
Ms López has a long history of working with women, farm workers and immigrant-led groups. She has broad experience in non-profit management, design and implementation of health, education, and leadership development programs, as well as policy analysis, with special emphasis on Latinos.
Prior to joining NHLI, Ms. López served as Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Community Change (CCC), a national social justice organization that focuses on strengthening, connecting, and mobilizing grassroots groups and leaders to enhance their leadership, voice and power. While at the Center and because of her extensive work on attaining rights for immigrants in the U.S., Ms. López became a sought after spokesperson on the immigrant rights movement and was interviewed by numerous mainstream, ethnic and international media outlets such as USA TODAY, Washington Post, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN en Español, EFE, Agence France Press, and La Opinion, among others.
Ms. López has also served as Vice President of MOSAICA, a non-profit multicultural organization that provides organizational development assistance to other non-profit organizations in the U.S. and internationally; and as Vice President for Institutional Development at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), where she managed four program areas: health, education, elderly, and leadership development.
Ms. López organizational development and non-governmental experience has gained internationally reach. Fully bilingual and bicultural, Ms López has worked in Latin America on education, health, and human trafficking programs.
Ms. López is an involved community activist and volunteer, and has served on numerous boards over the last two decades. She is currently on the board of AYUDA, an organization serving low-income immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area, especially victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Ms. López recently stepped off the board of Action Aid International USA, an organization that advocates reforms in US foreign and economic policies to fight poverty in the Global South; and the New Door Fund Advisory Committee at the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, an organization dedicated to fostering philanthropy to improve the lives of women and girls.
On a personal level, Ms. López is committed to mentoring and developing Latinos to advance in their careers. In the past few decades, Ms. López has mentored dozens of professionals who now hold management positions in the areas of politics, activism, communications, human resources, and other sectors.
Of Cuban Heritage, Ms. López was born in Colombia, SA and raised in Florida. Ms. López has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of South Florida in Tampa; and a Masters in Social Foundations of Education from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
