Leslie Sanchez
Encyclopedia
Leslie Sanchez is a prominent American author, political pundit affiliated with the Republican Party
, and founder/CEO of Impacto Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.
-based market research and consulting firm.
, Texas
. She is a third-generation Mexican-American: her grandfather came to the United States from Mexico
in the early 1900s. The family lived comfortably until Sanchez was 15 years old when her parents divorced. Sanchez moved with her mother to a one-bedroom apartment in Sugar Land, a suburb in the Houston
metropolitan area where she joined the "working poor," getting a job during high school to support her mother and grandmother.
After high school, Sanchez went to work selling Collier's encyclopedias
door to door in order to work her way through college. In four years, she travelled through 1,000 counties in 23 states. Sanchez was an accomplished salesperson, eventually rising through the ranks to field manager and making enough money to provide for her family as well as college. Sanchez attended George Washington University
, graduating in 1997 with a journalism degree.
In 2002, Sanchez obtained a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University
.
, R-TX as a legislative assistant on appropriations. She also worked on border issues and immigration legislation. After college, Sanchez held a number of public relations and marketing positions in the Capitol and worked with the staff of House Speaker
, Rep. Dennis Hastert
.
In 1999, Sanchez became a deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee
were she developed communication strategies for the Hispanic
market and served as the Committee's chief spokesperson to the Hispanic community. The results were tangible: "Until Leslie Sanchez, the Republican Party wasn't talking to Univision
," according to one colleague. The following year, she was tapped by the 2000 Bush presidential campaign
to work on Hispanic outreach. Together with V. Lance Tarrance, Jr., a prominent Republican pollster, Sanchez was a principal architect for two, "watershed Hispanic surveys," recognized at the time as the most thorough, all-encompassing political and cultural survey taken of Hispanic voters by any political party.
Additionally, Sanchez helped to create a multi-million dollar RNC marketing campaign aimed toward the Hispanic market in key states during the 2000 election cycle, a program widely credited as contributing to Bush receiving 37 percent of the Hispanic vote, the most by any Republican presidential candidate to that time. In 2001, outgoing RNC chairman Jim Nicholson
praised Sanchez, at the time the Committee's Hispanic-voter liaison director, for her key role in that effort.
On May 29, 2001, President George W. Bush
appointed Sanchez executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
. Created in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush
, the program's mission is to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary of Education on educational issues related to Hispanics and means to address academic excellence and opportunities to the Hispanic community. In her capacity as director, Sanchez "monitored and evaluated Hispanic participation in education programs in 29 federal departments and agencies." Moreover, she created for her office a grassroots alliance of 20,000 students, parents, and educators nationwide, and assembled a strategic coalition of 30 Fortune 500
companies, financial institutions, and government agencies.
Also in 2001, Sanchez was named one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business
and was selected for the 4th Annual Young Hispanic Leaders Program where she earned a diploma at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo in Santander
, Spain
. Around this time, she entered the MBA program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (now extant).
On June 25, 2003, Sanchez resigned her White House Initiative position to form her own consulting firm, Impacto Group, LLC, the "first Republican political strategy and research group aimed solely at the U.S. Hispanic marketplace." Pollster Tarrance joined her as head of research and development for Impacto Strategies, a division of the Group, and chairman of its board of advisors. Impacto also deals with social and economic issues related to women.
and Prudential Financial
. Impacto's analytical work has also impressed political watchers. In 2004, the Independent Women's Forum commissioned a psycholinguistic survey of Hispanic and Caucasian female voters that is considered seminal in the field.
While primarily engaged in consulting, Sanchez appears frequently on television as a political commentator. Since founding Impacto, she has made numerous appearances on various political shows including CNN
's The Situation Room
, Fox News Channel
's O'Reilly Factor, and PBS
's The McLaughlin Group
, To the Contrary, and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. In addition to being a regular commentator on Fox and CNN, Sanchez also appears frequently on MSNBC
, Telemundo
, and Univision.
Sanchez has been sought after for several election-related projects. In 2004 and 2006, respectively, she worked for the BBC
in their coverage of the presidential and congressional elections. In 2008, she served as a political contributor for CNN's election coverage series. The following year, the network was awarded the distinguished Peabody Award
for its reporting on the 2008 presidential campaign. Sanchez's commentary is featured in the PBS documentary Latinos 08 which examines the presidential election through the prism of ethnic politics.
Sanchez has written a significant number of editorials, opinion pieces, and other articles for such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and US News & World Report, as well as two books. Her first, Los Republicanos: Why Republicans and Hispanics Need Each Other, was published in 2007. In it, Sanchez makes the argument that since most Hispanics share core beliefs with the Republican Party (GOP) and represent the fastest growing minority, then they can and should play an integral role in forming a conservative majority. The book has been cited by one reviewer as "a proto-type analysis that can be applied to other minority groups in America." Sanchez's second book, You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Michelle, Sarah, Hillary and the Shaping of the New American Woman, was released in October of 2009 by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin's Press.
In recent years, Sanchez has been increasingly critical of what she sees as the GOP's patronizing attempts in courting Hispanics, especially since the 2008 elections. Calling the immigration debate, "Prop. 187 on steroids," Sanchez warns that "Republicans embrace anti-immigrant fervor at their own peril." Instead, she argues that the Party should re-adopt the successful strategies employed by Presidents Ronald Reagan
and George W. Bush, who appealed to Hispanics, she opines, "not as Hispanics or immigrants but as Americans with an equal stake in the future of the country."
. Already considered a "Latina Martha Stewart
" by close associates, she had been encouraged to try out as soon as the shows existence had become known. Sanchez finally relented when she was invited to audition by the GWU Alumni Association. She lasted for 10 of 13 weeks in the competition before finally being ejected.
Despite what some have considered a particularly severe dismissal (Stewart told her that she would rather hire the "doer rather than the talker"), Sanchez preferred in a later interview to focus on Stewart's complimentary remarks regarding her marketing and communication skills. Her appearance on The Apprentice apparently boosted Sanchez's business as well as her fan following.
, Virginia
with her husband and dog, Jalapeña. She has no children.
Among her many activities and honors, past and present, are the following:
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and founder/CEO of Impacto Group LLC, a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based market research and consulting firm.
Early life
Sanchez was born in Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. She is a third-generation Mexican-American: her grandfather came to the United States from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the early 1900s. The family lived comfortably until Sanchez was 15 years old when her parents divorced. Sanchez moved with her mother to a one-bedroom apartment in Sugar Land, a suburb in the Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
metropolitan area where she joined the "working poor," getting a job during high school to support her mother and grandmother.
After high school, Sanchez went to work selling Collier's encyclopedias
Collier's Encyclopedia
P.F. Collier & Son Company published Collier's New Encyclopedia from 1902–1929, initially in 16 volumes and later in 10 volumes.Collier's 11 volume National Encyclopedia replaced Collier's New Encyclopedia....
door to door in order to work her way through college. In four years, she travelled through 1,000 counties in 23 states. Sanchez was an accomplished salesperson, eventually rising through the ranks to field manager and making enough money to provide for her family as well as college. Sanchez attended George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, graduating in 1997 with a journalism degree.
In 2002, Sanchez obtained a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Political work
Sanchez's political work began in the 1990s. While a student at GWU, she volunteered in several campaigns, garnering significant grassroots experience. During this time, Sanchez went to work in the office of Rep. Henry BonillaHenry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
, R-TX as a legislative assistant on appropriations. She also worked on border issues and immigration legislation. After college, Sanchez held a number of public relations and marketing positions in the Capitol and worked with the staff of House Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
, Rep. Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
.
In 1999, Sanchez became a deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
were she developed communication strategies for the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
market and served as the Committee's chief spokesperson to the Hispanic community. The results were tangible: "Until Leslie Sanchez, the Republican Party wasn't talking to Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
," according to one colleague. The following year, she was tapped by the 2000 Bush presidential campaign
George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000
This article is about the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, winner of the 2000 presidential election and re-elected in the 2004 election.See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his presidency, and George W...
to work on Hispanic outreach. Together with V. Lance Tarrance, Jr., a prominent Republican pollster, Sanchez was a principal architect for two, "watershed Hispanic surveys," recognized at the time as the most thorough, all-encompassing political and cultural survey taken of Hispanic voters by any political party.
Additionally, Sanchez helped to create a multi-million dollar RNC marketing campaign aimed toward the Hispanic market in key states during the 2000 election cycle, a program widely credited as contributing to Bush receiving 37 percent of the Hispanic vote, the most by any Republican presidential candidate to that time. In 2001, outgoing RNC chairman Jim Nicholson
Jim Nicholson (U.S. politician)
Robert James "Jim" Nicholson is an attorney, real estate developer, and a former Republican Party chairman. He was the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from January 26, 2005 until October 1, 2007.-Personal life:...
praised Sanchez, at the time the Committee's Hispanic-voter liaison director, for her key role in that effort.
On May 29, 2001, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed Sanchez executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanicsis a multi-agency working group within the Department of Education charged with strengthening the nation's capacity to provide high quality education while increasing opportunities for Hispanic American participation in federal...
. Created in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, the program's mission is to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary of Education on educational issues related to Hispanics and means to address academic excellence and opportunities to the Hispanic community. In her capacity as director, Sanchez "monitored and evaluated Hispanic participation in education programs in 29 federal departments and agencies." Moreover, she created for her office a grassroots alliance of 20,000 students, parents, and educators nationwide, and assembled a strategic coalition of 30 Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies, financial institutions, and government agencies.
Also in 2001, Sanchez was named one of the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...
and was selected for the 4th Annual Young Hispanic Leaders Program where she earned a diploma at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo in Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Around this time, she entered the MBA program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (now extant).
On June 25, 2003, Sanchez resigned her White House Initiative position to form her own consulting firm, Impacto Group, LLC, the "first Republican political strategy and research group aimed solely at the U.S. Hispanic marketplace." Pollster Tarrance joined her as head of research and development for Impacto Strategies, a division of the Group, and chairman of its board of advisors. Impacto also deals with social and economic issues related to women.
Consultant and commentator
At Impacto, Sanchez quickly racked up an impressive list of clients, including Cisco SystemsCisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
and Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial
The Prudential Insurance Company of America , also known as Prudential Financial, Inc., is a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the...
. Impacto's analytical work has also impressed political watchers. In 2004, the Independent Women's Forum commissioned a psycholinguistic survey of Hispanic and Caucasian female voters that is considered seminal in the field.
While primarily engaged in consulting, Sanchez appears frequently on television as a political commentator. Since founding Impacto, she has made numerous appearances on various political shows including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's The Situation Room
The Situation Room
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer is an afternoon/early evening newscast on CNN and CNN International hosted by Wolf Blitzer that first aired on August 8, 2005. The show replaces three politics and hard news programs: Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports.At first,...
, Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
's O'Reilly Factor, and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group is a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, where a group of five pundits discuss current political issues in a round table format. It has been broadcast since 1982, and is currently sponsored by MetLife...
, To the Contrary, and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. In addition to being a regular commentator on Fox and CNN, Sanchez also appears frequently on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, and Univision.
Sanchez has been sought after for several election-related projects. In 2004 and 2006, respectively, she worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in their coverage of the presidential and congressional elections. In 2008, she served as a political contributor for CNN's election coverage series. The following year, the network was awarded the distinguished Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for its reporting on the 2008 presidential campaign. Sanchez's commentary is featured in the PBS documentary Latinos 08 which examines the presidential election through the prism of ethnic politics.
Sanchez has written a significant number of editorials, opinion pieces, and other articles for such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and US News & World Report, as well as two books. Her first, Los Republicanos: Why Republicans and Hispanics Need Each Other, was published in 2007. In it, Sanchez makes the argument that since most Hispanics share core beliefs with the Republican Party (GOP) and represent the fastest growing minority, then they can and should play an integral role in forming a conservative majority. The book has been cited by one reviewer as "a proto-type analysis that can be applied to other minority groups in America." Sanchez's second book, You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Michelle, Sarah, Hillary and the Shaping of the New American Woman, was released in October of 2009 by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin's Press.
In recent years, Sanchez has been increasingly critical of what she sees as the GOP's patronizing attempts in courting Hispanics, especially since the 2008 elections. Calling the immigration debate, "Prop. 187 on steroids," Sanchez warns that "Republicans embrace anti-immigrant fervor at their own peril." Instead, she argues that the Party should re-adopt the successful strategies employed by Presidents Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and George W. Bush, who appealed to Hispanics, she opines, "not as Hispanics or immigrants but as Americans with an equal stake in the future of the country."
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
In 2005, Sanchez was one of 16 candidates on The Apprentice: Martha StewartThe Apprentice: Martha Stewart
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart is a spin-off from the American reality television series The Apprentice that ran in the fall of 2005. Broadcast on NBC, the show featured business tycoon Martha Stewart. Tasks were centered around Stewart's areas of expertise: media, culinary arts, entertaining,...
. Already considered a "Latina Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
" by close associates, she had been encouraged to try out as soon as the shows existence had become known. Sanchez finally relented when she was invited to audition by the GWU Alumni Association. She lasted for 10 of 13 weeks in the competition before finally being ejected.
Despite what some have considered a particularly severe dismissal (Stewart told her that she would rather hire the "doer rather than the talker"), Sanchez preferred in a later interview to focus on Stewart's complimentary remarks regarding her marketing and communication skills. Her appearance on The Apprentice apparently boosted Sanchez's business as well as her fan following.
Miscellany
Sanchez currently resides in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
with her husband and dog, Jalapeña. She has no children.
Among her many activities and honors, past and present, are the following:
- Co-director of the Congressional Border Caucus
- Member, U.S.-Spain Council for the Young Hispanic Leaders Program
- Ex-officio member of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's StatusPresident's Task Force on Puerto Rico's StatusThe mission of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status is to provide options for Puerto Rico’s future status and relationship with the Government of the United States....
- Hispanic Business magazine's "100 Most Influential Hispanics"
- Member, Women's Business Enterprise National Council
- Board of Directors, Providence Health Foundation
- John Hopkins Alumni Association
- The George Washington University Alumni Association
- National Society of Hispanic MBAsNational Society of Hispanic MBAsThe National Society of Hispanic MBAs, usually abbreviated as NSHMBA and pronounced "nashimba" was created in 1988 as a 501 organization that "exists to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development...
- Visiting Fellow, Independent Women's ForumIndependent Women's ForumThe Independent Women's Forum is an American conservative, non-profit, non-partisan research and educational institution focused on domestic and foreign policy issues of concern to women...
- Texas Federation of Republican WomenNational Federation of Republican WomenThe National Federation of Republican Women is the women's wing of the Republican Party in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is a grassroots political organization with more than 1,600 local clubs in the 50 states and in the U.S. territories...
- Latin Chamber of Commerce
- Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce
- American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer SocietyThe American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
Relay for Life