Rafael Collazo
National Deputy Director
Rafael Collazo is the National Deputy Director for Democracia U.S.A. Collazo oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization’s seven field offices in the five states where D-USA is active: Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. He oversees the over 100 employees D-USA will have in the 2008 election cycle.
Collazo is known for his work as a Latino political and media activist, who has dedicated his career to helping the Hispanic community raise its collective voice in the electoral process and civic life of this nation. He has worked with an impressive list of Hispanic leaders across the country and his diverse experience ranges from organizing a congressional campaign in Nevada and working with immigrant rights leaders in Florida to fighting for fair redistricting in New Jersey.
Collazo joined D-USA in 2006 as the Pennsylvania State Director. Under his leadership, D-USA registered over 25,000 new Hispanic voters in the state, which amounted to a 27 percent increase in that electorate.
In 2004, Rafael ran against long odds to narrowly lose to a 38-year incumbent for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Previously, Collazo served as the Northeast Regional Director of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. In that capacity, he organized hundreds of voter registration projects and trained thousands of activists, students, and elected officials to develop their leadership potential.
Rafael is a graduate of Columbia University and resides in Sicklerville, NJ
