Diana Sanchez is originally from Puebla, Mexico. She came to the United States at age four, where she attended school in the Portchester and Yonkers Public School Districts. She started advocating for the community at a young age: as a young teenager she was the first student to speak in a Yonkers town hall against Yonkers’ public school budget cuts. In 1999 her parents organized buses to Washington D.C. and New York City where she participated in rallies, marches and also gave speeches to large crowds in support of the immigration reform.
Diana is one of the directors for a local Mexican folk-dancing group in Yonkers called “Espiritu de Mexico,” where she has taught dance children, teenagers and adults for over 18 years as volunteer. In 2016, she participated in a bi-national program by the US-Mexico Foundation. This organization gave her an opportunity to learn about Mexico’s economy, universities and politicians.
Diana is one of the founders and a community organizer at Yonkers Sanctuary Movement. She is a board member of Hudson Valley Community Coalition and has completed a fellowship with United We Dream. These organizations focus on deportation defense and advocating for pro-immigrant legislation for the undocumented community.