Women Employed<\/a>, where she leads campaigns for paid family and medical leave, pay equity and economic justice.<\/p>\nShe said her work as a coalition strategist\u2014and her lived experiences as a queer, masc-presenting Latina woman\u2014motivated her to step into political leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned to use my voice unapologetically\u2014and not just for myself, but for the communities I love and represent,\u201d Santos said. \u201cI really want to be part of the changing face of leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santos said she never saw anyone like her in public roles when she was young, and that lack of representation shaped her decision to train for office now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really saw someone like me that I could look up to, someone who was authentically themselves and outspoken and community-driven,\u201d she said. \u201cSo that way the next generation, my little sister, her kids, kind of see themselves in the people that are making the decisions about their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said fundraising and financial barriers kept her from considering a political run until recently, when she decided fear was no longer going to stop her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just kind of got like, I just was just motivated because I felt like I could, and I wasn\u2019t scared to anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
At the Victory Institute training, Santos said she found the courage and practical knowledge needed to pursue elected office.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really just gave me the motivation that I could,\u201d Santos said. \u201cOne thing, it just gave me the courage that I could do it, and I shouldn\u2019t think so small, that I can think big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santos named Danica Roem, the first transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature, as the program\u2019s most influential instructor.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Martin-Diego-Garcia-of-the-Campaign-Workshop-Starr-De-Los-Santos-and-Virginia-State-Sen.-Danica-Roem.jpeg\")
Marti\u0301n Diego Garcia of the Campaign Workshop, Starr De Los Santos and Virginia State Sen. Danica Roem. Photo courtesy of Starr De Los Santos<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was just so authentic and she really just told her story with no filter,\u201d Santos said. \u201cIt was amazing to hear her story and the way she goes about protecting her family. And her energy was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santos also cited influences like State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, praising her for modeling relatable and community-rooted public service.<\/p>\n
Santos said she is now attending campaign events and shadowing candidates to understand the realities of running.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really just kind of taken it all in and kind of just seeing, okay, well, this is what I would do differently,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Santos has not yet announced a run, but is weighing both local and larger offices, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what my future really holds, but I\u201dm leaning into the idea of \u2018go big or go home,\u2019\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
Santos said recent election victories for progressive candidates\u2014including in New York, where she helped with door-knocking\u2014gave her energy and hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re giving power back to the people and the motivation to keep going,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
To others considering leadership, Santos encouraged people to look into the Victory Institute and get involved in public policy through nonprofits and advisory boards, including Chicago\u2019s LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, where she serves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s a really good way, like, if you\u2019ve never been in public policy, to kind of get your foot in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Santos emphasized that leadership is not about perfection\u2014but authenticity.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will see that and want to help you just for our authenticity,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Activist Starr De Los Santos is celebrating a milestone that she hopes will not only shape her future…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":396430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,45261,61572,5603,187989,80,11603,19746,187990,187991],"class_list":{"0":"post-396429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois","11":"tag-latina","12":"tag-lesbian","13":"tag-lgbtq","14":"tag-masc-presenting","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-queer","17":"tag-transgender","18":"tag-victory-institute","19":"tag-women-employed"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115592175649509959","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Starr-De-Los-Santos-and-her-team-won-the-Victory-Institutes-campaign-planning-contest.-Photo-courtes.jpeg\")
Starr De Los Santos recently completed the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute training. Photo courtesy of Starr De Los Santos<\/p>\n