At the welcome news of John Lewis’ endorsement, Biden’s campaign seems to be hitting its stride and making real attempts to reach all sectors of the Democratic party. Hence, an exciting addition to Joe Biden’s team is 26 year old Isabel Aldunate, who serves as both the deputy director of strategic communications and Hispanic media press secretary for Biden’s campaign.
Cristobal Alex, a senior advisor to the Biden campaign, describes Aldunate as a “bad ass Latina” who is making a difference on the campaign trail.
In a recent interview, Aldunate describes her dual role in helping Biden connect with millennials and Latino communities.
Aldunate describes her primary responsibilities to virtually connect Biden to the Latino community, especially as the COVID 19 pandemic has drastically changed the way candidates connect with voters (emphasis mine).
On the Hispanic media side, I deal with inquiries from outlets like Univision and Telemundo, or any of the national outlets, such as the New York Times, [when] they want to [cover] anything in the Latino space.
I also book interviews for the VP on Hispanic media. I’ll give background about who’s interviewing him [and] the purpose of [each] interview. For example, if it’s a small station in California, it would be “this is to reach out to the Mexican-American audience.” I’d tell him what things to be aware of, what kind of questions they’ll [likely] ask, and how we think he should answer.
That Biden is willing to take advice from a 26 year-old Latina gives me confidence that he will listen to and respond to the diverse voices within our big tent party.
When asked about her fondest memory of Joe Biden, Aldunate, who is fairly new to the team, recounted this encounter, which shows the type of character needed in the White House.
When I first started, I'd never met him. One day he was standing in the lobby of our office. I was starstruck — I’m very shy. He stopped me and said to the person he was on the phone with, “Hey, let me call you later.” [He] hung up and said, “Hi, what’s your name?” and asked what I do for him. I explained that I’m helping with Hispanic media, and he was like, “It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for all the work you’ve done. I’m looking forward to working with you.” He shook my hand. I almost couldn’t believe it.
Aldulate concludes the interview by stating it would be virtually impossible to work for a candidate she didn’t believe in. The fact she’s working for Joe Biden gives me an even greater confidence in his campaign.