To The Contrary Panelists

Maria Teresa Kumar

Named by Hispanic Magazine as among the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Maria Teresa Kumar is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a youth organization targeting acculturated Latinos in civic participation. Under Maria Teresa's leadership, Voto Latino launched the first national mobile texting campaign to register voters in 2006, received various marketing awards for its unique programs including a Webby Award nomination, created the Celebrity Coalition chaired by actor Rosario Dawson, and established media partnerships that include MySpace, iTunes Latino and MTV. During the 2008 presidential elections, Voto Latino’s work concentrated in five battle ground states. It witnessed a 5% increase in Latino voter participation in those states above the national average.