It was a surprise for many when Zohran Mamdani won the New York City Democratic mayoral primary in June. For Jessica Delos Reyes, it was evidence that the New American Leaders Action Fund’s approach to diversifying American politics works.
Mamdani was endorsed by the fund and applied its methods to his campaign: building a grassroots-powered movement that engages young people and immigrants in politics and invites first-time voters to enter the electoral scene.
As the first non-partisan nonprofit to specifically support immigrants and children of immigrants in their path toward elected office, New American Leaders Action Fund provides training on how to run a campaign tailored to immigrant communities, hoping to diversify both the candidate pool and the electorate in the process. By supporting “new Americans” who are trying to get elected at all levels of government — including homeowners associations, parent and teacher associations, and school boards as well as government positions — the fund aims to encourage immigrants and first-generation Americans to be civically engaged and make a difference in their communities.
“A big focus of the training is to use their lived experience, their immigrant experience, as that’s an important part of their resume as well,” said Reyes, the fund’s director of communications, adding that the majority of people who run for office tend to be white, male and well-educated. “A lot of people may think, ‘I didn’t go to a certain school, I don’t have a certain background.’ But they’ve had a lot of life to live and they’ve lived it, and that is something valuable people can bring to a role in elected office.”
Mamdani, for example, leaned into his immigrant background while also reaching out to other demographics to find common ground on issues that affect all New Yorkers, Reyes said. Recognizing his own identities as a Muslim first-generation American, Mamdani understood who wasn’t being heard and reached out to them — in multiple languages — to understand their needs.
“He went and reached communities where they are — not expecting them necessarily to come to him — met people where they are and talked to them at their level,” Reyes said. “These are the things that we encourage people running for office or running campaigns to do. Because a lot of times, they are things that people gloss over when really we want to be building a movement. Yes, it would be great to get elected, but a movement will take us all further in the long run.”
Focusing on the wider goal of building a movement can also bring candidates together. New American Leaders Action Fund organizes a network of pro-democracy and pro-immigrant candidates and elected officials who seek to collaborate on issues. It offers support for candidates and politicians of color who feel isolated in government spaces. “Often, they’re the only Brown, Black, Asian person in the room when they’re carrying out their duties as an elected official,” Reyes said.
The fund also arranges site visits for elected officials to meet with local organizers who are trying to solve complex social issues, like the housing crisis in Los Angeles and sustainable waste management in Washington D.C. This brings elected officials closer to the issues they are working to solve and expands the reach of the New American Leaders Action Fund movement.
Nadia Mohammed, who was elected as mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, was also a training leader for the fund. A daughter of Somali refugees, Mohammed grew up living in subsidized housing. When she ran for the mayoral spot in 2023, affordable housing was the policy she advocated for because she understood how much her community needed safe housing that everyone can afford. She took her own experience and turned it into politics — and she won.
“When you hear her talk about when she goes into her office, and they have pictures of all the mayors, they’re all old white men,” Reyes said. “She’s this younger, fresh-faced, dark-skinned, beautiful woman with a headscarf, and that’s a source of pride for her. I get chills every time I hear her tell other candidates that story.”
Not everyone needs to go as far as becoming the mayor of their city to make a difference. The fund wants participants to use their own strengths and capabilities at any level.
“There are midterms coming up. There are mayoral races. There are city council races,” Reyes said. “If you want to make a big impact in your local community, the chance to do it is now.”
Editors Note: This story was updated on September 16, 2025, to clarify St. Louis Park Mayor Nadia Mohammed’s affiliation with the New American Leaders Action Fund.
Image credit: Bingjiefu He/Wikimedia Commons
