Meet our Board of Directors!
Michael Ramirez
Board Chair
Michael Ramirez is a Colorado native, born in Longmont to immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico. When Michael was 7, his family moved to the small town of Frederick, Colorado in southwest Weld County. The first time Michael saw how race and class intersected in his life was when in Elementary School, he would be placed in the ESL classes even though he was proficient in English. He was first activated politically in 2006 when his whole family made the drive to Denver on May 1st for the infamous immigrant rights march. Michael graduated from Frederick High School and then went on to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder where he studied Political Science. While at CU-Boulder, Michael ran for and won a seat on the Arts and Sciences Student Government. This is where he first got his itch to work on political campaigns. Michael currently works as a electoral campaign professional, most recently working on the Sen. Julie Gonzales campaign for State Senate District 34 and during the 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary for Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Before working in electoral politics, Michael worked for Servicios de La Raza, a non-profit in Denver, Colorado as a Youth Case Manager and as the Co-Chair for the La Raza Youth Leadership Institute. Michael has also served on the board for the Colorado Latino Forum and was in the inaugural class of the Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO) Capitol Fellowship.
Hobbies: “My hobbies include going to live music shows, going to the Improv or Comedy Works for a comedy show, playing basketball, golf, video games, or reading a good book. I also love spending as much time as possible with my family, specifically my 2 nieces and nephew.”
Felipe Vieyra
Board Secretary
Felipe Vieyra is an immigrant from Mexico. He came to the states when he was 2 along with his parents and grew up in Northern Colorado (Greeley and Fort Morgan). He is currently a Director of Organizing Strategy at Leadership for Educational Equity. His previous positions include working as a Bilingual Organizer with Together Colorado where he led organizing teams around the statewide minimum wage increase, transit equity work, local school organizing and various other campaigns. He was also a Program Director at the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club where he implemented and expanded an outreach program for low-income Latinx players to join and grow as athlete-scholars and as the Southwest Denver Community Organizer for Stand for Children.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver where he triple majored in political science, Spanish literature and language and international relations. Felipe is the first in his family to graduate from high school and college and advocates for higher graduation rates for Latino students and better English learner policies.
He was appointed to the Immigrant and Refugee Commission of Denver by Mayor Hancock and served on the commission for 4 yrs. He coaches youth soccer and is originally from Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. He’s grateful to be on the board having been undocumented and knowing how important it is to build power to tackle the issues that affect oppressed communities.
Hobbies: “I love to spend time with my family, friends and pup. I also really enjoy playing pickup soccer throughout Denver. I love to read fiction books and finding fun coffee shops throughout the city. I also really enjoy to eat, snowboarding, and the mountains.”