The Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF) is an organization that emerged seeking to garner greater support for Latino ancestry in leadership positions in the United States. In this context, it is important to highlight Latino representation in leadership positions in the United States, highlighting the disparity between the proportion of the Latino population, which is almost 20%, and their representation in executive positions, which is only 3%.

According to Latin Times, “for  example, 52 members of the 118th Congress are Latino, comprising 9.7% of the 534 voting members in both chambers, and they hold 3% of executive leadership positions in the U.S., according to the Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics”.

HAF President and CEO Maite Arce shares her personal experience as an immigrant from Mexico, highlighting her motivation for founding the organization. According to the interview published by Latin Times, she underscores the importance of leadership development, highlighting the MANO program, which offers paid internships at natural resource management agencies to young Latino professionals. The goal is to provide access to careers they are passionate about, which were often inaccessible in the past.

“We put out the announcement in universities and on social media and people will see these paid opportunities that are very interesting to them. We help develop their leadership in the process and make sure we break down the barriers they're facing and make sure they’re walking into these non-diverse environments and making sure they're well paid, they have stipends, health insurance and can develop a peer network of support”

Arce notes increased interest in areas such as the environment and green jobs – especially in Puerto Rico, in response to growing concern about the climate crisis – as well as engineering and more standardized areas such as communications and accounting. She highlights the importance of religion in the Latino community, mentioning a specific focus on pastors who play a vital role in service delivery, volunteerism, and connecting people to resources.

When asked how the national conversation, especially on immigration, affects HAF's work, Arce emphasizes the urgency of resolving complex immigration-related issues and the need to empower community leaders to positively influence decision-making processes. She highlights the importance of ensuring that the Latino community has power in immigration reform, which is considered one of the most pressing issues.