Center for American Progress

Honoring Lorella Praeli, 2023 Progressive Champion
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Honoring Lorella Praeli, 2023 Progressive Champion

Lorella Praeli is the co-president of Community Change and Community Change Action and the first recipient of the John D. Podesta Progressive Champion Award.

Lorella Praeli walks onto the stage
Lorella Praeli, then the Hillary for America Latino vote director, walks onto the stage during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016. (Getty/Jessica Kourkounis)

Lorella Praeli is the co-president of Community Change and Community Change Action. Previously, she served as deputy national political director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and as Hillary Clinton’s national Latino vote director. In the past, Praeli was United We Dream’s director of Advocacy and Policy, a role in which she spearheaded the campaign to implement Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and was part of the driving force that persuaded the Obama administration to protect 4 million undocumented immigrants through Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.

A DREAMer, Praeli came to the United States with her family at age 10 from Peru. She explains her passion as “building collective power to win transformative policy change at all levels of government, so that people can thrive.” A self-described “proud Latina who believes that we will win,” Praeli currently serves as a member of several boards, including the ACLU National Board and the inaugural U.S. Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity.

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