Evan Bacalao is a program officer with the Open Society Foundations, where he
manages a range of civic participation and advocacy initiatives focused on the
resilience and representativeness of U.S. democracy. Previously at OSF, Evan
led a cross-program portfolio seeking to build independent power among
communities of color, via support for multi-issue state-based organizing groups,
leadership development, census advocacy, and participatory redistricting.
Prior to joining Open Society in 2015, Evan was a senior leader for the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational
Fund, where he led the organization’s multi-state civic engagement team, and
oversaw a range of programs including promotion of/assistance with
naturalization, voter mobilization and protection, census participation, original
research, and information dissemination. Under his leadership, the department
placed increased focus on state and national coalition-building, regional outreach
campaigns, and capacity-building with local Latinx-serving nonprofits.
Evan joined NALEO as research associate in the policy, research, and advocacy
department, where he wrote public reports and testimony based on demographic
and electoral participation data, and assisted with advocacy efforts such as the
Voting Rights Act reauthorization of 2006.
Prior to joining the nonprofit world, Evan was a political fundraiser. He is also a
proud naturalized citizen, emerging baker, and occasional gardener.