Promoting Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation

Team

Cristóbal Joshua Alex

Program Officer New York

Cristóbal Alex works on increasing democratic participation in the United States, with an emphasis on voter registration and mobilization, litigation, advocacy and public policy reform. He makes grants to organizations that work to expand the electorate, protect the right to vote, empower underrepresented constituencies, and build a more fair and equitable political system.

Prior to joining the foundation in 2011, Cristóbal worked at the Open Society Foundations, where he managed the voter engagement portfolio and supported a range of strategies to inspire public participation in underrepresented communities, generating innovative solutions to address threats to democracy.

Previously, Cristóbal served as director of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, where he led a coalition of more than 100 organizations to raise awareness of the civil rights rollback and develop strategies to win in the federal courts. He also practiced law with MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, the leading civil rights firm in the Pacific Northwest. Cristóbal played a key leadership role in passing Washington’s in-state tuition bill, led voter registration drives, advocated on various rights issues before the United Nations Human Rights Commission and federal and state governmental bodies, and served as the youngest president in the history of the Latino Bar Association. He also co-founded and chaired the Latino Political Action Committee of Washington, the first political action committee designed to increase Latino gubernatorial policymaking appointments.

A native Texan, Cristóbal received his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where he served as student body president.