Cecilia Navas is a Venezuelan political exile who uses her platform to create positive change. Since her early years, she has been involved in politics and has a wealth of experience in the field of advocacy, rule of law, and public policy. She has dedicated herself to explaining how socialism destroyed her homeland and has been advocating for freedom by sharing her story with the youth. She recently worked as Deputy State Director for Operación ¡Vamos! as part of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in North Carolina.
Cecilia is a leading advocate for youth voices in the defense of democracy and the rule of law and liberty. She holds a degree in International Business from Florida National University, where she served as president of the Student Government Association.
She created the non-profit A TOY AND A SMILE Foundation in 2009 to help low-income children in Venezuela. She is a founder of Youth and Democracy in the Americas, a non-profit organization established in Florida in 2018, with the mission to educate student leaders to promote values and democratic principles with the goal of serving the youth by helping them understand their role toward achieving democracy in the Americas.
With the support of the Secretary-General, Dr. Luis Almagro, Cecilia created an event at the Organization of American States to honor the fallen young heroes in Venezuela on Youth Day. Additionally, she organized the annual continental Student Summit Youth and Democracy in the Americas at the U.S. Congress, mobilizing more than 350 students and young leaders from 22 countries to strengthen the democracies of the region.