The top nonprofit dedicated to promoting President Biden’s agenda will announce the appointment of Mayra Macías as its executive director Wednesday.
Building Back Together (BBT), a policy and advocacy intermediary between the White House and outside advocacy groups, will now be formally run by Macías, who has served as interim executive director since March.
“For me to have the opportunity to lead this national organization and help center the voices of the people who are impacted by these policies, many of them Latinos, brings my trajectory almost full circle,” she said.
“So much of my work in the past was helping elect good candidates so that we would have good policy. And now I get to talk about the policy that has been passed under this administration. And I’m able to speak directly to communities that are often the last to hear about these things.”
Macías, who served as executive director for the Latino Victory Project and as political director of the Florida Democratic Party, credited her trajectory from politics into policy to her first job as a middle school teacher.
“It’s ensuring we provide opportunities for the next generation,” she said.
Since Macías took over as interim director in March, BBT’s focus has shifted from paid media campaigns to highlighting the Biden administration’s economic record.
“For the past two years, Mayra has been critical to leading Building Back Together’s outreach to educate Americans on the Biden-Harris legislative agenda, including spearheading the Latino Always-On program to uplift the president’s message in Latino communities across the country,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, the White House deputy chief of staff, speaking in her personal capacity.
“Put simply: Mayra’s experience, instincts, and grit make her an ideal fit for this role, and I am thrilled that she will be continuing and expanding her work as Building Back Together’s executive director.”
Macías started her tenure at BBT expanding the group’s coalition network, a role that’s become central to BBT’s mission.
“The thing that has grounded my work at Latino Victory and Building Back Together hasn’t changed. It’s about trying to create more equity. What has changed is the platform and getting to work with a broader coalition at Building Back Together and getting to learn about more issues and really think about a more holistic approach to engaging communities from the policy perspective,” said Macías.
Outreach to community groups, especially communities of color, is a top priority for Biden’s orbit ahead of a potentially turbulent 2024 election year.
In its two-year existence, the nonprofit has spent more than $40 million in paid media while engaging a diverse array of community groups on policy issues.
“Mayra Macías is a leader who excels at building broad coalitions united with a common goal. That is the skill that makes Building Back Together so effective at communicating the positive impacts of the Biden-Harris legislative agenda,” said Paulette Aniskoff, a senior advisor for BBT who served in the Obama White House.
“Mayra understands how to meet people where they are to be effective at getting BBT’s message across. Under Mayra’s leadership, BBT has already made critical investments to reach communities across the country — particularly communities of color — to share how their lives are changing for the better under the Biden-Harris Administration.”