National Advocacy Committee Blog

Celebrating NAHREP familia, cultura, politics, and grassroots action

Hola familia! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Noerena or “Noe” as many in the NAHREP family have come to call me.  I like tofu, my favorite color is yellow, policy is my jam, and I think tapping into the power of NAHREP so that we speak up, rise up and become one of the most powerful Latino organizations in the country is right about the coolest job a gal could have.

So that brings me to here: I’ve been tasked by our Co-Founder & CEO Gary Acosta with building out our grassroots advocacy operation. As one of the largest Latino business organizations in the country, with a growing membership of over 30,000 members and 80+ chapters, NAHREP stands at a crossroads with an extraordinary opportunity to be among the most influential Latino and housing voices out there. However, we need to build the grassroots operation in order to leverage that power.

So how do we do that?

I started my career working on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. I’ve worked on presidential and congressional campaigns, worked at the White House, and for a regulatory agency. I’ve seen how power dynamics work: the good, the ugly and everything in between. But most importantly, I’ve experienced the dance of how things get done in Washington. It’s not dissimilar to a bachata dance, or a good zapatiado. You engage with your partner, you give just enough to keep them interested, you’re persistent, you keep them close while still maintaining a barrier, and most importantly: you never lose sight of their eyes or their motivation.

¡Entonces, a BAILAR se ha dicho!

• Show up and speak up: Do you know how many stupid laws get passed because someone shows up to a city council meeting and complains about something? Often, the only people showing up to city council meetings are the ones that want to stop things from happening. That’s not what we need! No one will hear you and nothing will change if you don’t show up and make your voice heard. It’s that simple.
• Lead with our mission: NAHREP is fueled by one primary mission: to advance sustainable Hispanic Homeownership. And together, we have a single goal: to get to 50% homeownership by 2024. The numbers are in our favor: Latinos are the future of homeownership. Latinos are leading demand for homeownership. If legislators fail to take this into account when enacting policy on housing: the country will suffer. Let’s not let them forget that.
• Develop relationships at the local level: Our capacity to look ahead and influence the policy issues that impact us most requires us to approach our advocacy efforts like we do our businesses: by building relationships. While going to Capitol Hill once a year and advocating for our issues is important, effective policy influence requires much more consistency. Ask yourself this, do you build loyal clients by issuing one massive marketing campaign a year?  The answer is most likely no. Relationships are built over time.

So welcome to the National Advocacy Committee. Thank you for texting NAHREP to 50457. Make sure you fill out your profile with VoterVoice. This is how we’re going to communicate with our legislators and make our voice heard.

Together we WILL become the most powerful Latino organization in the country, the NAHREP way. With a little music, a little sazón, and a lot of familia.

Join the movement:  www.nahrep.org/engage.