Cynthia Morraz
#HaveYouHerd: Happy October, everyone! Today is Friday, October 1st, and that means it’s time for another #FridayFeature. We are celebrating Cynthia Morraz, activist and Community Ambassador for Central Indiana Community Foundation, and her incredible work to improve the Hispanic community. To learn how she does it all, keep on reading.
Cynthia Morraz is a first-generation American and comes from a family of resilient Nicaraguan immigrants. Cynthia is a strong advocate of immigrant rights, language access, and equity. She received her bachelor's in journalism from IUPUI and even went on to receive her master's in public affairs at O’neil at IUPUI.
Serving the immigrant population is not something new for her. She has volunteered on the west side of Indianapolis, registering voters, promoting community resources, working to increase vaccine outreach, providing language access services, and is now the new President for the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus. Her drive, energy, dedication, and passion for advocacy have always made her stand out from the crowd. When she is not working, Cynthia is trying out a new dish, practicing yoga, and training her puppy Mango.
We asked Cynthia what celebrating Hispanic Heritage month means to her, and she said, “Celebrating Latinx Hispanic Heritage month means honoring the contributions of Latinx individuals in our country and the local community. Honoring badass women such as Sonia Sotomayor and Maria Hinojosa for their continuous work to advance our community, and represent us in the media and the Supreme Court.”
Cynthia also went on to tell us what she feels the term “Hispanic” really encompasses. “To me, Hispanic means folks of Spanish ancestry who speak Spanish,” she said. “My family is from Nicaragua, and I am first-generation Nicaraguan-American.” That being said, Cynthia’s Nicaraguan ancestry roots from a Latin-American country and she is a fluent Spanish speaker, making her both Hispanic and Latinx.
Currently, Cynthia is working on advocating for language access services, and increasing vaccine outreach to support the Latinx community in Indianapolis. We are beyond happy that we have people such as Cynthia working so hard to make our community better while staying true to who she is. To keep up with Cynthia, you can follow her on Twitter (@cynthia_morraz) or LinkedIn (@CynthiaMorraz).