Maria Ignacia was born and raised in Chile and moved to the U.S. and Colorado in 2006. She graduated from the University of Colorado Denver in 2017 with a B.A. in International Studies, Political Science, and a minor in Spanish, and recently finished a M.A. in International Human Rights with a Global Health Affairs certificate at the University of Denver. While attending CU Denver, Maria led or participated in the International Studies Student Club, Housekeeper's English Classes, Casamayan for Auraria Student Action, CLAS Student Advisory Council, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Iota Rho (CU Denver’s Chapter Founder).

A community organizer at heart, Maria Ignacia began organizing in college with other students to create change in their community. Once she graduated, she began working as the Community Organizer and the Field Manager at the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), developing and implementing community outreach strategies to engage the Latine community. Then, as the Program and Outreach Manager at Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE), she created and implemented a leadership development program that supported the growth of fellows, interns, volunteers, and activists to organize their communities for environmental health.

In 2022, she worked as the Political Consultant for the successful Natural Medicine Colorado Campaign focused on political advocacy as well as outreach to key Colorado stakeholders, securing multiple endorsements from individuals and endorsing organizations. NMC won with 54% of the vote, making Colorado the second state in the country to secure access to natural medicines as an option for healing compound mental health challenges. Her social justice work is guided by her belief in leadership development and intersectionality as key tools in creating sustainable change, which will continue to be at forefront of her career.

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-ignacia-miranda-santis