Laura Maristany

As Vice President of External Affairs, Laura Maristany leads Bitwise Industries’ outreach and partnerships with government and community organizations to build tech economies in underestimated cities. She is a seasoned advocate and community builder with extensive Capitol Hill and policymaking experience. Before joining Bitwise, Laura served as Associate Director for Constructive Politics at Democracy Fund, where she created and carried out the foundation’s constructive politics strategy to explore what unites us while helping institutions that govern become more diverse, inclusive, and better able to serve all Americans.

Laura has led advocacy and coalition-building strategies as head of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) DC office, Executive Director of Legislative Affairs at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and her work in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a thought partner and leader, she has helped launch several startup organizations with a focus on strengthening capacity and infrastructure to promote inclusive systems across sectors. Laura also currently serves on Welcoming America’s board of Directors and is an advisory council member for Millennial Action Project’s Leadership Development Council and Representative Democracy. Laura is a GMF 2018 Memorial Fellow, and a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit bestowed by the Spanish Crown. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus and a master’s degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University.