Episode 44: Elisa Batista: My old Wired.com colleague stopped by the Jam to talk about her mom blog, her life as a political activist with MomsRising, and her new book, ¡Presente! Latinx Power Remaking U.S. Democracy. Oh, and we spent a good deal of time talking about hillbillies and neighborhoods, both Appalachian and Cuban!
About Elisa Batista
Elisa Batista is freelance writer, communications strategist, and digital organizer who just wrote her first book about organizing U.S. Latino communities. ¡Presente! Latinx Power Remaking U.S. Democracy is slated for release this year by Routledge.
She also serves as the Chair of the Berkeley, California Children Youth and Recreation Commission, advising the city on policies, programs, planning efforts, activities and funding associated with recreation, youth and families.
She has spent most of her career as a campaign director for MomsRising.org, a million-volunteer grassroots organization advocating for policies related to family economic security, and child health and well-being. She helped spearhead the organization’s immigration campaign, and launch MamásConPoder.org, a community of civically engaged Spanish-speaking and bilingual mothers.
She is also a bilingual journalist and award-winning digital influencer. She is the co-founder of the popular parenting community, MotherTalkers, which was named a “favorite mom blog” by Ms. Magazine, and recognized with an award by Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM). In addition, her writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, Daily Kos, FOX News, La Opinión, and Wired News.
Batista lives with her family in Berkeley, California.
