Héctor Sánchez Barba

Héctor Sánchez Barba is the CEO and President of Mi Familia Vota where he is an indefatigable voice advancing policy priorities, civic participation and fighting systemic injustices against Latinos, immigrants and the most vulnerable communities. He is also chair of Planned Parenthood Global, a Senior Fellow at GW Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, and the Chair Emeritus of NHLA (National Hispanic Leadership Agenda). 

Throughout his career, Hector has worked in non-profit organizations and has vast experience in policy advocacy, civic participation, community organizing, non-profit management, fundraising, and media relations. He is a strong campaigner having undertaken vigorous civic participation campaigns, organized and participated in national initiatives to empower the Latino community via voter registration drives, GOTV, voter education, citizenship, census, and efforts to combat voter suppression. Hector has also launched national campaigns to improve the conditions of working families and strengthen their voice on critical issues such as labor rights, women’s rights (Trabajadoras and Latinas Represent), immigration, civil rights, farmworkers, health care, education, diversity, underrepresentation in government and public office, criminal justice, and the environment.

Sanchez plays a central role in the national advocacy leadership: in 2012 he was elected Chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition comprised of the 46 leading national Latino organizations, he was re-elected in 2015 and then named the first chair emeritus in 2018. In 2019 he joined the national Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the first Latino in the history of the organization. Hector is also a member of the Kennedy Center’s Latino Advisory Council, Univision’s External Advisory Board, El Rey Network Hispanic Advisory Council and PVBLIC Foundation LATAM Board of Directors. From 2012 to 2018 the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director appointed Hector as co-chair of the Hispanic Council on Federal Employment in an effort to remove barriers to recruiting, hiring, retaining, and advancing Hispanics in the Federal workforce. In 2015, he was appointed by the AFL-CIO’s President Richard Trumka to the Executive Council Committee on Immigration and to the AFL-CIO Labor Commission on Racial and Economic Justice as well as a member of the Criminal Justice Reform advisory council.

He regularly appears as a commentator on national and international TV networks and frequently publishes opinion pieces on pressing policy issues. Hector is also a regular speaker at conferences across the country and has been recognized for his advocacy work receiving numerous national and international awards.

Prior to joining MFV, Hector was the Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at El Paso.