Team

IngridDuran

Ingrid M. Duran is CEO & Founder of D&P Creative Strategies, a company that she and her wife, Catherine, founded in 2004 to increase the role of corporate, legislative and philanthropic efforts in addressing multi cultural issues. D&P specializes in public affairs and government relations and
represents Fortune 200 companies as well as non-profits and trade associations.

Prior to starting D&P, Ingrid was President & CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a leadership development institute founded by Hispanic Members of Congress in 1978. CHCI’s mission is to develop the next generation of Latinx leaders and to build a diverse and inclusive workforce across industries. She grew the organization over six years from a $700K budget to a $7 million dollar budget and launched both their scholarship program and their renown annual conference. Preceding her leadership of CHCI, Ingrid was recruited to run the Washington, DC office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) representing Latinx community interests to Congress and the Clinton Administration.

Ingrid’s public service began at an early age when she served as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps. She continued her public service on Capitol Hill, where she worked for six years under the Clerk of the US House of Representatives and on the House Banking Committee under the leadership of then Chairman Henry B. Gonzalez. Ingrid also served as a Legislative Assistant for former Representative Gene Green.

Her efforts as a strong steadfast leader and advocate for the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities have garnered her national accolades and numerous honors, including the Premio Dignidad Award from LLEGO; the Nation’s 100 most influential and powerful Hispanics for HISPANC and PODER magazines; and a Latina of Excellence by HISPANIC magazine. Along with her wife Catherine, Ingrid was recognized by the Hispanic Women’s Corporation and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force with their 2012 Leadership Awards; Latino Magazine’s 2013 Power Players; Working Mother Magazine’s Legacy Awards; and Hispanic VIP’s Premio a la Excelencia for their work in the Hispanic community. In 2014 Latino Magazine recognized her in the Top 10 leaders in the Latinx community and People en Español named her one of 25 Most Powerful Latinas in the U.S. Ingrid was named one of The Hill’s 2018 top lobbyists in Washington, DC.

Together, Ingrid and her wife Catherine founded PODER PAC, a political action committee by Latinas for Latinas. PODER PAC is a national effort to increase the number of Latinas elected to Congress.

Through their production company, Freemind Beauty, they have also produced six films The Latino List I & II, The Out List and The Trans List for HBO and The Boomer List and The Women’s List for PBS American Masters.

Ingrid earned a bachelor’s degree from Park College and is a graduate of Harvard’s JFK School of Government Executive Program; Harvard’s Business School Corporate Governance Program; and the Center for Creative Leadership. She is a 2002 National Hispana Leadership Institute Fellow.

Brandon Hernandez is an award-winning communications leader, executive advisor, and political consultant with strong expertise in how to successfully navigate California’s political, legislative, and business landscape. Leveraging in-depth knowledge of both the public and private sectors, Mr. Hernandez advises corporations, non-profits, and political campaigns to succeed at the state and local levels. He has been named a “Top 20 Under 40” Environmental Leader by San Francisco 7×7, received multiple national awards for a groundbreaking Spanish language campaign, and was recognized with “June 24 – as Brandon Hernandez Day” by former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

As the Founder and Principal of Reforma Strategies, Brandon Hernandez directs world-class client solutions in the areas of Political Strategy, Public Affairs, Media Relations, Government Relations, Hispanic Communications, Reputation Management, Marketing & Ad Campaigns, Crisis Management, Issue Advocacy, and Initiative Leadership. Regardless of the industry or challenge, he has helped organizations move past complicated events, protect reputations, and prepare for media and legislative appearances. With extensive insights, connections, and strategic leadership experience, Brandon helps companies establish or expand business operations in California, representing the fifth-largest economy in the world.

For 13 years, Brandon served PG&E to meet the needs of its customers and the State of California, most recently working as the Senior Director for External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. In this role, he led a statewide team and oversaw legislative policy, collaborated with stakeholders and government agencies, and organized public affairs activities across the state and nation. He spearheaded PG&E’s strategic rollout of more than $6B in capital investments across Northern California, established the first Zero Net Energy substation in the United States, and led a partnership to make San Francisco the greenest city in America. Previously, Brandon directed Public Affairs for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco in California and Washington DC, worked as a policy advisor for the California State Assembly Speaker and was lead for various corporate and political clients at a leading media and political consulting firm.

Mr. Hernandez holds a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Beyond his professional endeavors, he serves as a Board Director for civic causes and non-profit organizations, including Voto Latino and the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Brandon enjoys travel immensely, has a passion for architecture and urban planning, and loves to explore cities around the world.

MariaTeresa mariateresakumar

María Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino’s founding president, is an American activist and social entrepreneur and an Emmy-nominated MSNBC contributor seeking to shake up the political process. Leveraging youth, technology, social platforms and influencers, Voto Latino reaches 6.5 million monthly. Voto Latino is a key civic engagement organization, registering 500,000+ voters. In 2018, Voto Latino registered 15 percent of new Texas voters.

Fast Company named Kumar among the 100 Creative Minds. Elle named her among the 10 most influential women in DC and Hispanic Executive named her among the 10 most influential Latinos. HBO’s Celebrity Habla profiled her work and Austin College awarded her the Posey Leadership Award.

Kumar serves on the boards of EMILY’s List and the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member.

Kumar is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School and UC Davis.

Eve Maldonado O’Toole is leader of Holland & Knight’s Local Government Group and Principal of Evolve Strategies LLC. She brings more than 20 years of federal lobbying experience, with substantial background in state and local government/public sector advocacy, regulatory, appropriations and policy development, and in establishing and executing local public-private partnerships, successful grassroots campaigns and coalitions, and positioning state and local officials and municipalities nationally.

With close working ties to Congress and the executive branch, Ms. O’Toole has a strong record of advancing a wide range of public interests. These include transportation and infrastructure, energy, environment, water, natural
resources, community and economic development, public safety, housing and homelessness, health and human services, workforce, education, civil rights, telecommunications and technology, homeland security, emergency
preparedness and recovery, defense and base reuse, and public finance.

Among other key local government/public agency and public-private partnerships, Ms. O’Toole currently represents cities from San Francisco to Philadelphia, Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, San Mateo County’s transportation agencies and the 480-member League of California Cities, where she previously served as head of its Washington, D.C., office. She also leads and manages the advocacy for several national coalitions, including Mayors and CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment, Mayors Against LGBTQ Discrimination and the Water Agency Leaders Alliance.

Ms. O’Toole previously served as senior vice president and director of the Intergovernmental Group practice of MARC Associates, a federal relations consulting firm. She also worked as a government affairs representative with another large law firm, serving as federal representative for Los Angeles County. She currently serves on the board of the California State Society and has served on the board of The Representation Project and the Women’s Campaign Fund. She recently co-founded GrupoMas, a social network of LatinX professionals interested in California’s economic, political, arts, entertainment and cultural affairs. She also was vice president for development and treasurer for MANA, a national Latina organization.

Stansbury

Brian Stansbury is a partner in the Washington, DC and Houston offices of King & Spalding LLP. Brian and his colleagues at King & Spalding have served as pro bono legal counsel for Voto Latino.

Brian specializes in complex environmental, toxic tort, and commercial litigation and crisis management. Brian represents an array of clients, including those in the energy, automotive, chemical, food, technology, and telecommunications industries. He has handled matters involving criminal and civil violations of the Clean Air Act, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act, customs laws all over the world, and allegations of obstruction of justice and wire fraud. Brian also advises clients researching and pursuing opportunities in the Republic of Cuba.

In addition to his pro bono work for Voto Latino, Brian maintains a robust pro bono practice representing people of limited means in immigration matters. Brian is a co-founder of the UndocuNeighbor initiative, which has assisted families separated at the US border and Dreamers who want to renew their DACA status. He has secured asylum for numerous people from Africa, Central and South America, and Asia. Brian also provided legislative analysis and counseling for the National Immigration Forum in connection with the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill, which passed the US Senate but died in the US House. Brian is counsel to the Community Justice Action Fund and the Community Justice Reform Coalition, which focus on policy reform and building resources for communities of color working at the nexus of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform. Brian also served as personal counsel to the widow of Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Brian has served as chairman of the board of New Leaders Texas and served as an adviser and fundraiser for Congressman Joaquin Castro, Secretary Julian Castro, Representative Mary Gonzalez, Houston Mayor Bill White, and Houston Controller Chris Brown. Brian has also served on the board of trustees of the School for Ethics and Global Leadership in Washington, DC.

Brian obtained his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas.