IQLatino’s founder and president, Leopoldo Martinez, has been appointed to serve on the Board of the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. He will be joining a number of Virginia leaders dedicated to the institute’s mission of building bipartisan political leadership for the bettering of Virginia’s communities.
The Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership was founded in 1993 at the University of Virginia. Their non-partisan goal is to bring together diverse individuals with a wide variety of viewpoints and backgrounds who are passionate about politics and public service. By learning and working together, these leaders go on to strengthen and enhance the quality of government at all levels in the state of Virginia, and provide a national model of bipartisanship. Sorensen alumni have gone on to serve in elected office, state and local government, and in leadership positions in the private and public sector.
The Sorensen Institute operates a variety of programs, all of which have three central themes in common: ethics in public service, the power of bipartisanship, and a concentrated study of public policy. Through its programs, high school and college leaders, first-time political candidates and influential business and community leaders from all backgrounds come together with the common goal of improving the communities they share. In 2007, the Sorensen Institute’s College and High School Leaders Programs were recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as among the best programs in the nation in giving young people the skills and motivation to become politically engaged in their communities.
Jonathan Dromgoole, who has worked closely with Leopoldo at IQLatino and is an alumni of the Sorensen Institute and Class Representative for the Emerging Leaders Program class of 2020, praised the appointment. “I could not be more proud to hear of Leopoldo’s recent appointment to the Board. As one of three Latinx participants in the most recent cohort, I know first hand both the value of Sorensen and the need to ensure that diverse voices, especially those from the Latinx community, are present as participants at all levels. Leo’s appointment to the Board of this organization helps assure that future generations of leaders, especially from marginalized communities, have a representative and friend within Sorensen,” he said.
In times of national division and partisan politics, it is institutions like Sorensen that play the important role of shaping a positive political discussion and restoring the public’s confidence in our political system. From IQLatino, we congratulate Leopoldo for his appointment and are confident that he will bring a valuable perspective and represent the Latino and immigrant communities in his new capacity as Board member.
To learn more about the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership and its programs, click here.