Meet Francesca.

 
 

Political Educator. Policy Strategist. Former TV News Anchor. Entrepreneur

Francesca Menes is the Founder and Chief Community Engager of CommUnity Strategies, LLC. Passionate about teaching and sharing knowledge, Francesca founded CommUnity Strategies to be rooted in community advocacy, empowering individuals to embrace their voice, maximize their influence and exercise their collective power to transform their communities.

Francesca is also the Deputy Organizing Director at Local Progress, a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government.

Known as a voice of truth in the community, Francesca is a political educator, legislative and policy strategist, former television host and entrepreneur committed to creating spaces to educate, inform and engage our people on the issues that are important in their daily lives; helping them to understand that the personal is political. She is a first generation Haitian-Dominican-American raised in Miami’s Little Haiti community. 

For over a decade, Francesca has worked alongside undocumented families, immigrants, refugees, students and communities of color to draft, introduce and pass local, state, federal resolutions, policies and laws on the issues of education, immigration, housing, wage protections, job security and organizing around social, institutional, systematic and political transformation. She has led the development and implementation of strategic legislative, policy and voter engagement campaigns locally and statewide centering intersectional social justice issues, including worker’s rights, racial justice, criminal justice and women’s rights. Her work led to the passage of resolutions and ordinances in several counties throughout the state and passage of bills signed into law in Tallahassee which benefited immigrants, New Americans, youth and communities of color. 

For 2 years, Francesca was the coordinator of a national network of organizations fighting for the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). She also co-coordinated the Florida Wage Theft Task Force, which led the passage of ordinances in several counties and cities throughout the state. She coordinated a national network campaigning for Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. In 2014, she successfully led the statewide campaign “We Are Florida’s Future” to pass in-state tuition for undocumented students and led the campaign to establish the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade County, establishing a public-private partnership to promote naturalization.

Additionally, during the 2016 and 2017 legislative session, Francesca successfully coordinated the statewide campaign "We Are Florida's Families," which led to the defeat of 9 anti-immigrant and anti-refugee bills which sought to criminalize immigrants and remove local elected officials from office who support and vote on policies to protect immigrants regardless of their status. In 2017, she also led the passage of several Welcoming Cities and School District resolutions.

Francesca holds her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Women’s Studies with a minor in Philosophy and a certificate in National Security Studies and her Master’s in Public Administration, with a certificate in Community Development.

Francesca has appeared on and has been quoted in many national and Florida-based media outlets and publications, HLN, CNN en Español, USA Today, Politico, New York Times, Miami New Times, INFLUENCE Magazine, CBS Channel 4, NBC Channel 6, ABC Channel 10, Island TV, WLRN, Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel and PolitiFact Florida.

Boards

Francesca is a co-founder and Board Chair of The Black Collective, a movement committed to promoting a shared agenda to elevate the political consciousness and amplify the economic power of Black communities and currently serves on the Miami-Dade County N.W. 79th Street Corridor Community Redevelopment Agency in addition to a number of organizational boards.

For 2 years, Francesca served on the board of South Florida Jobs with Justice, a community organization leading the fight for worker's rights, focused on bring together labor, community, students and faith leaders. She also served on the board of the Miami-Dade Young Democrats for over 8 years, including a 2-year term as the Vice President of Communications and Administration.

For 8 years, Francesca has served on the national steering committee of the Black Immigration Network. A network with the vision of uniting people of African descent for racial justice and migrant rights to achieve social, economic and political power, which Francesca helped co-found in 2008. 

For 8 years, Francesca served on the Miami-Dade Commission for Women, where she served a 2-year term as 2nd Vice-Chair of the Commission, appointed by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally A. Heyman.

Francesca served as the co-coordinator for #Rights4ALLinDR, a broad coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for human rights and dignity in the Dominican Republic. 

She also served as the State Committeewoman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Executive Committee and Treasurer of the Florida Democratic Party.

Recognitions

Francesca has received numerous honors and recognition, including:

  • 20 Under 40 Emerging Leaders in South Florida, The Miami Herald

  • Miami's 40 Under 40 Young Black Leaders of Today and Tomorrow, Legacy Magazine

  • 20 Under 40 Haitian-American Young Professionals, The Haitian-American Chamber Of Commerce of Florida

  • “Angels on Adams Street”, Influence Magazine

  • Advocacy Award, Haitian Lawyers Association

  • Unsung Hero Award, City of Miami Gardens Honoree