Maria Fernanda Henao joined the ACLU of Florida as Statewide Immigrants’ Justice Organizer in June 2023.
Growing up in a Colombian immigrant family in Connecticut, Maria Fernanda faced the firsthand challenges that come with being a part of this community. Consequently, she developed a passion for human rights, multicultural conflict resolution and has devoted her efforts to serving vulnerable communities in Colombia and, recently, in Massachusetts.
Before joining the ACLU of Florida, Maria Fernanda worked for EVkids, where she advocated for middle and high school students, and acted as the primary liaison between tutors, schools, and families enrolled in a tutoring program for low-income students in the Boston area. Prior to that, Maria Fernanda worked as a consultant for the National Army’s Fourth Brigade Think Tank in Colombia where she was tasked with bringing together community leaders, municipal authorities, academia, and press to address safety issues in vulnerable communities.
Maria Fernanda has a B.S. in Political Science from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin and has a graduate certificate in Cross-Cultural Communication from Northeastern University in Boston.