Voto y Voz: Your Voice and Vote Matter

Please join the Berry Institute of Politics and our HSI-MSI Initiatives for an important conversation about the role of voter and civic engagement in strengthening our democracy.  

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we are thrilled to welcome Javier Juarez, the director of the Latino Equity Fund, and Yamily Byas, a Salem School Committee member, to share their experiences with us.  Whether or not you are able to register to vote, your voice matters and can have a significant impact on our community and beyond. You will learn about important work happening in our community and feel inspired to use your voice and vote to impact the issues that matter to you.  

Meet our Speakers:  

Javier Juarez is the Director of the Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation. He is a graduate of the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, and holds a master’s degree from Brown University in American Studies. A frequent speaker and organizer on topics related to immigration policy and DACA, Juarez is a first-generation immigrant from Peru.  

Yamily Byas is a member of the City of Salem's School Committee and is part of the staff at HAWC (Healing Abuse and Working for Change) Byas also founded the support group Mamás Unidas, which helps local Latina mothers in need receive access to everyday necessities, basic needs, even living arrangements, food insecurity and education. Yamily grew up on the North Shore as part of an immigrant family from the Dominican Republic.