Hispanic Federation Welcomes Mónica Tavares as Vice President of External Affairs
August 30, 2017 (New York, NY) – Hispanic Federation President José Calderón announced today that Mónica Tavares has joined the organization as its new Vice President of External Affairs.
“We’re delighted to welcome Mónica into the Hispanic Federation family,” said Calderón. “With so much uncertainty in our political climate today, it is critical that our members and the communities we serve know they can rely on us to be their voice as we fight to protect our community’s needs when it comes to health care, education, the environment, immigration and so many other issues. With Mónica, we’ve not only added an experienced communicator to our team, but someone who is an immigrant herself, and understands on a visceral level the importance and urgency of our work.”
Tavares joins the Hispanic Federation following three years as Chief of Staff in the Office of Communications and External Affairs at the New York City Department of Education (DOE). In that role, she was responsible for helping manage a diverse office that oversees intergovernmental and community affairs, marketing and digital communications, and translation and interpretation for the nation’s largest public school system serving 1.1 million students across 1,800 schools. Her portfolio also included policy work on behalf of the DOE on immigration and civic engagement.
“I’m honored and excited to join the Hispanic Federation at such a crucial time in our nation’s history,” Tavares said. “I look forward to helping the Federation build on the relationships they have across the country to form coalitions that can leverage the power of the Latino community both locally and nationally. I take pride in being an agent of change, and will make sure that what matters most to our community is always front and center in the public’s mind.”
Tavares previously served as Acting Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), where she started as Chief of Staff. At MOIA she managed One NYC One Nation, a two-year, $1 million civic engagement initiative designed to increase the participation of immigrants in New York City’s civic life. She was also the Bronx Borough Director/Latino Liaison for the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit and for eight years did community and government relations at El Museo del Barrio, the city’s leading Latino cultural institution.
An East Harlem resident, Tavares is a native of the Dominican Republic. She has a B.A. from SUNY College at Potsdam, a Non-Profit Management Certificate from the Hispanic Leadership Institute at the Baruch College of Public Affairs and is a proud alumni of Coro’s Leadership New York program.
