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When Jasmin Chavez Cruz and her family came to the US from El Salvador, they often relied on community organizations to help them get by. Today, she aims to do the same for others as the state director of Virginia League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and as a presidential appointee for the White House Hispanic Initiative.
She shares her commitment to immigrant and low-income communities, her efforts as a confidential assistant to the Biden Administration, and more.
What do you do today?
I’m dedicated to empowering the immigrant, low-income community, building Latino political power, and advocating for issues that are important to Latinos across the nation.
I came to the United States from El Salvador as a young child with my family, and I distinctly remember how much my family struggled to put food on the table. Community organizers would help me and my family by connecting them to food banks. The kindness we received from the community inspired me to give back. I began to organize my community at the age of fourteen, and I’ve not stopped since.
In my work, I work on issues impacting the Latino community on a national scale. I am a presidential appointee, appointed by President Joe Biden in September 2022 to serve the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics and the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the US Department of Education. In my role as confidential assistant, I assist with planning and executing national events, manage the communications strategy, develop talking points for speaker memos and slide decks, serve as the speaker liaison for events, conduct research, and am in charge of scheduling for two principals. Additionally, I also help advance the offices’ public engagement strategy by serving as a keynote speaker for organizations like the Virginia Latino Higher Education Network, Virginia College Advising Corps, and the Hispanic Leadership Alliance.
Every single day, I work to advance educational equity and economic opportunity for Latino and Hispanic students, families, and communities across the nation.
What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
One of my greatest career accomplishments was being appointed by President Biden to serve as a presidential appointee at the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics in September 2022.
What is your greatest personal accomplishment to date?
One of my greatest personal accomplishments was being appointed as Virginia’s youngest LULAC State Director in 2020. In this role, I focused on advocating for key issues affecting the Latino community in the state of Virginia and has organized multiple food, clothing, backpack, and toy drives in the state.
I began to organize my community at the age of fourteen, so being appointed the Virginia LULAC state director in 2020 was a testament to all my hard work as an organizer in the state.
How do you tackle problems and overcome challenges?
As the oldest daughter of three, I had to be a mother to my sisters and serve as the interpreter for my parents, who do not understand or speak English. I had to be a leader not only for my community but also for my family. I love my family dearly, but having to take care of everyone around me has taken a toll on my mental health. In 2019, I decided to begin a journey to improve my mental health by taking antidepressants. I tackle problems head on, and I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I know that I need antidepressants to tackle challenges and that it is okay to do so. I’m trying to normalize mental health issues in the Latino community by being an advocate for the issue and sharing that whenever I can. Challenges always come my way, but I overcome them by remembering that I am resilient and that if my ancestors could overcome civil wars and poverty, that I too can overcome anything.
What do you do today to impact your community?
The commitment and passion for giving back to the community is what guides my work. I grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, in a low-income, predominantly immigrant community. My parents really struggled financially when they came to this country from El Salvador. I was only a baby when my parents brought me to northern Virginia. Growing up, they would go to food banks in order to put food on the table. The kindness of the organizers in my community inspired me to give back to a community that gave me so much. I am community made because I grew up organizing my community, am from the community, and have struggled like members of my community.
In 2020, I was appointed to serve as the youngest Virginia LULAC State Director. I’ve focused on advocating for key issues affecting the Latino community in the state of Virginia and organized multiple food, clothing, backpack, and toy drives in the state. In my role, I’m in charge of planning and executing events, drafting the policy priorities for the organization every year, overseeing ten board members and five-plus councils in the state, organizing tabling opportunities at ten-plus Latino events per year, organizing community drives, and sitting on the LULAC National Board of Directors.
The Viva Cultura Festival was the biggest and most historic event that VA LULAC hosted at the Kennedy Center in 2021 under my leadership. Viva Cultura was the first-ever Latino-focused event at the Kennedy Center. Viva Cultura brought together Latino artisans, performers, and five hundred-plus attendees from all across the world to Washington, DC.
I also love giving back to the community by serving as a board member of McDaniel College Alumni Council’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and as an ambassador for the Salvadoran American Chamber of Commerce. I’m also an alumna of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the National Museum of the American Latino Young Ambassadors Program, the HACU Corporate Internship Program, and the UCLA Labor Center’s Dream Summer Fellowship. In 2018, I was awarded Woman of the Year by the LULAC and in 2022, I was awarded the Emerging Leadership Award by the same organization. In June 2023, I received the Young Alumni Award from my alma mater, the McDaniel College Alumni Association.
Describe yourself in five words.
Authentic, humble, hardworking, funny, and compassionate.
What are your future goals?
My future goal is to continue to do work that makes me happy, buy a home for my family, build generational wealth for my future Latino & Jewish children, and become the first immigrant Latina senator of the United States.
What is your favorite form of self-care?
My favorite form of self-care is traveling.
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not working?
For fun I like to dance, read, journal, listen to Oprah, go to cat cafes, do arts and crafts, watch Stranger Things, and watch romantic comedies.
What does making NextGen Collective’s 30 Under 30 list mean to you?
This means the world to me. My parents came to the US with $10 in their pockets just so that my sisters and I could someday go off to college. Today, I am not only a college graduate, but I also work for the President of the United States. It’s a dream come true to be able to do the work that I do. I dedicate this recognition to a community that has given me everything and to my immigrant parents who have sacrificed so much for my sisters and me.
What is your personal theme song?
“Unstoppable” by Sia
What is your Latino background?
I am Salvadoreña. I was born in El Salvador, and my parents brought me to the US when I was a child.
Editor‘s note: This Q&A has been edited for clarity.
