María Teresa Kumar

María Teresa Kumar (née María Teresa Petersen; 1974) is a Colombian American political rights activist and President and CEO of the Latino political organization, Voto Latino. Kumar was named by Elle Magazine in 2013 as one of the ten most influential women in Washington, D.C. and by Hispanic Business in 2017 as one of the 100 most influential Latinos in America.

María Teresa Kumar
Kumar 2017
Born
María Teresa Petersen

1974 (age 46–47)
Bogota, Colombia
EducationUniversity of California, Davis
John F. Kennedy School of Government
OccupationPolitical activist, CEO and President of Voto Latino
Spouse(s)Raj Kumar
WebsiteVoto Latino Website

Early life and education

Maria Teresa (Petersen) Kumar was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1974, but grew up in Sonoma, California. Kumar spent her summers in Colombia when she was young.[1]

Kumar attended the University of California, Davis where she received a BA in International Relations. She obtained a Master's degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Career

Kumar began her career as a legislative aide to Democratic congressman Vic Fazio.[2] She later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she recognized the importance of technology in improving the gap in equality in Latino lives. She began working with the Latino advocacy group, Voto Latino in 2004.[3] Currently based in Washington DC, the organization uses marketing campaigns and technology to encourage Latinos to participate in the political process.[1]

In the beginning, Voto Latino's mission was to increase voter registration among Latinos in the U.S. Later, Voto Latino partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to increase participation in the 2010 United States census. "To spread the word, Voto Latino and MTV’s Latino channel Tr3s aired public service announcements, created a hashtag on Twitter and established a nationwide network of bloggers". Kumar and her team also launched the 'Be Counted' campaign, which included a bilingual mobile phone app which enabled Latinos to fill out the 2010 census on their phones.[1] The organization is also currently assisting Latinos in navigating the health exchanges associated with the Affordable Care Act.[4]

Under Kumar's direction, Voto Latino played a primary role in registering over half a million new Latino voters.[2] In June, 2018, the organization announced that it has set a new goal of registering one million voters by 2020 and is planning to spend $7 million on the project.[5]

Awards and recognition

In 2010, Kumar was the recipient of an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis category for her role as co-creator and host of the two hour MSNBC television special, Beyond Borderlines. It was the first televised English-speaking town hall which focused on Latino issues in the United States and the emerging role of Latinos in politics.[1]

Kumar was named by Elle Magazine in 2013 as one of the ten most influential women in Washington D.C..[6] In 2017, Kumar was named by Hispanic Business among the 100 most influential Latinos in America.[3]

She was named a National Women's History Alliance Honoree in 2020.[7]

References
  1. Aho, Matthew. "Civic Innovator: Maria Teresa Kumar, United States". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  2. "Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino President and CEO". Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. "The 100 Most Influential Latinos". Latino Leaders Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. Baliva, Zach. "Maria Teresa Kumar Motivates Latinos to Vote". Hispanic Executive. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  5. Tatum, Sophie. "Voto Latino announces goal to register 1 million voters by 2020 and is planning to spend $7". CNN. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  6. Combe, Rachel. "The Influencers. We Profile 10 Women who are Crashing DC's Old Boys Club". Elle Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. "2020 Honorees". National Women's History Alliance. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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