Join us for a conversation between Paola Ramos and Stephanie Herrera. Paola Ramos is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and author of Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America, and Stephanie Herrera is the founder of Amoxtli Book Club and a talented multidisciplinary artist. Together, they’ll explore the complex themes of Defectors, discussing identity, political shifts within Latino communities, and the role of activism in shaping the future. This conversation will also highlight the often-overlooked contributions of women to immigration, migration, and U.S. political discourse, shedding light on their role in shaping policies, narratives, and movements.

About Paola Ramos
Paola Ramos is an author and Emmy Award-winning journalist. She is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she hosts “Field Report”, and is a former correspondent for Vice News. Her reporting has taken her along the southern border, the Darien Jungle, to embed with Mexican cartels, the Proud Boys or with underground abortion pill networks. Prior to her career in journalism, Ramos was the former Deputy Director of Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign, a political appointee during the Obama Administration and also served in President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She is the author of “DEFECTORS: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America,” and of “Finding Latin-X: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity,” published by Penguin Random House. Ramos is a former Hauser Leader in the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, where she received her master’s in public policy. She received her B.A. from Barnard College. She is Cuban, Mexican and American and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

This event is in collaboration with Stephanie Herrera, a first-generation Mexican-American engineer, multidisciplinary artist, and community activator passionate about STEM, art, and Latin American culture. She founded Amoxtli Book Club to promote knowledge-sharing through Latin American literature and later launched Ruidosa Art Collective in 2022, where she now serves as Creative Director. Through Ruidosa, she curates spaces across Chicago for local artists, musicians, and creatives to take up space and be LOUD! Stephanie continues to champion community, education, and artistic expression as tools for empowerment and cultural unity.