Rafael Collazo

National Deputy Director

Rafael Collazo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University.

Rafael is 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. After being an active member of ASPIRA as a youth activist, Rafael was a co-founder and CEO of The Latino Online News Network (LATNN). LATNN received critical acclaim for its coverage of the 2000 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

Rafael Collazo then became the Northeast Regional Director of the United States Hispanic Institute. In that position, Rafael organized hundreds of voter registration projects and trained thousands of activists, students and elected officials to develop their leadership potential.

In 2004, Rafael ran against long odds to narrowly lose to a 38 year incumbent for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

In 2006, Rafael joined Democracia U.S.A. as a Pennsylvania State Director and was promoted to National Field Director. Now in 2008 as National Deputy Director, Rafael oversees all national operations.