American Civil Liberties Union in Arizona Executive Director Alessandra Navidad resigned from the organization after 15 years and accepted a new leadership position at the Arizona Animal Welfare League.
Alessandra Navidad was the first Latina to head the ACLU in Arizona. She is now embarking on the new challenge and taking on the role as CEO and President of The Arizona Animal Welfare League, still pursuing her passion of protecting rights, but this time for furry friends.
Her parents instilled the value of taking care of others since she was young, Navidad said. In junior high, she was the editor of her school newspaper and some of her favorite topics to cover were animals and animal rights.
“It was always important for me to take care of others and help other animals and people and so I think that that’s obviously had a huge impact on my life,” she said.
Navidad said her passion for protecting people fueled her throughout 15 years of service at the ACLU. She grew the organization’s staff, membership and organizational budget exponentially, according to ACLU’s Twitter thread about Navidad’s resignation.
NEW: After 15 years as the Executive Director for the ACLU of Arizona, Alessandra Navidad announced her departure from the civil rights organization.@alessasoler was the first Latina to serve as executive director for the organization.https://t.co/pSXmIJo5k8
— ACLU of Arizona (@ACLUaz) February 17, 2021
Navidad and her team recruited, developed and trained formerly incarcerated people to be their advocates in legislature. She undertook the Smart Justice campaign, using strategic advocacy tactics to influence prison reform by reducing Arizona’s jail and prison populations.
She said they were focused on getting both Democratic and Republican candidates to take position supporting criminal justice reform, and “ultimately they all did- including the Republican candidate and the Democratic candidate for the county attorney race.”
She also worked to end discriminatory racial profiling by filing a class action lawsuit against former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, claiming that law enforcement officials showed a “pattern of unlawful discrimination” against Latinos.
“He terrorized the Latino community for many years,” Navidad said. “We were responsible for challenging his unconstitutional practices and putting an end to those practices.”
Navidad grew up in a trilingual household, with an emphasized value for love and compassion for others, she said.
She received an MBA from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management and her bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Florida. Navidad originally worked as a reporter, but left her career as a reporter to pursue an interest in veterinary medicine. She worked as a veterinary assistant in Miami before joining the ACLU.
Animal welfare has always been a passion of hers, Navidad said.
“People and animals are closely linked – when people suffer the animals suffer. Navidad said. “This opportunity really allows me to pursue that passion and do what I can to help save neglected, abused animals and help people care for them.”
An interim director will be appointed by the ACLU of Arizona’s Board of Directors as they search for a new permanent Executive Director, according to ACLU’s press release.
In a tweet announcing her resignation, Navidad wrote that she was sad to be leaving her ACLU family, but excited to undertake this new professional journey at AAWL.
Finally packed up my office. Sad to be leaving my @ACLU and @ACLUaz family after 15 years. As we have always said: the fight to defend and expand our rights won’t be easy but it’s worth it. Love y’all. pic.twitter.com/XcDAoPfeYc
— Alessandra Navidad (@alessasoler) February 27, 2021
“The fight to defend and expand our rights won’t be easy but it’s worth it,” Navidad wrote. “This amazing opportunity allows me to embrace my pit bull love, help increase adoptions, and expand access to low-cost veterinary care for Phoenix families.”
Contact the reporter at mgmcbri1@asu.edu.
