People for the American Way

Lizet Ocampo is PFAW’s political director. In this role, she leads work on federal, state and local elections across the country, inducing special elections, off-year, midterm, and presidential elections. A key component of this political work is PFAW’s Latinos Vote! program, which works to expose and counter anti-immigrant, anti-Latino rhetoric from Republican and far-right candidates, leaders, and elected officials. In her time at PFAW, Ocampo has managed the organization’s 2016 independent expenditure anti-Trump efforts, engaged key national Latino leaders in the election including Dolores Huerta, Alicia Machado, and Rita Moreno, and served as a key spokesperson pushing back against Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s extremism especially as it relates to immigration, civil rights, and voting rights.

Prior to her role at PFAW, Ocampo was associate director of immigration at the Center for American Progress. She has also served as vice president of campaigns for Latino Victory Project and national regional political director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Ocampo served at the White House in the Office of Legislative Affairs as well as in the leadership office of Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer. Ocampo received her B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University.

Ocampo provides political commentary and policy analysis in both English and Spanish language. She has been cited as an expert in national publications ranging from Fox News Latino to The Hill to Latina Magazine, and has appeared on national broadcasts including Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Espanol.