biography

Named by Hispanic Magazine as among the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Maria Teresa Petersen is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a youth organization targeting acculturated Latinos in civic participation. Under Maria Teresa's leadership, Voto Latino launched the first national mobile texting campaign to register voters in 2006, received various marketing awards for its unique programs including a Webby Award nomination, created the Celebrity Coalition chaired by actor Rosario Dawson, and established media partnerships that include MySpace, iTunes Latino and MTV.  During the 2008 presidential elections, Voto Latino’s work concentrated in five battle ground states. It witnessed a 5% increase in Latino voter participation in those states above the national average.

In addition to serving as a frequent political commentator on various MSNBC shows including Hardball and Morning Joe, Maria Teresa appears on CNN’s AC360, Fox, Telemundo, and NPR. National conferences including Net Roots Nation, Harvard Law School Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, Prudential, and Tide’s Momentum seek her to speak on politics, technology, and Latino issues.

Maria Teresa started her career as a Legislative Aide for former Democratic Caucus Chairman Vic Fazio managing international trade and appropriations.  She is a Women’s Media Center fellow, a Woodrow Wilson Public Policy International Affairs fellow, a National Hispana Leadership Institute fellow, sits on the boards of Latino Leader's Network and Latina PoderPAC. She is a recipient of numerous awards for leadership including the White House Project’s EPIC Award, an Imagen Foundation Award, and a Hunt Alternative Fund Prime Mover nominee. Maria Teresa holds a Masters from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelors from University California, Davis in international economics.