To mark the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, Biden for President Pennsylvania announced the formation of a Latino Leadership Council featuring some of the state’s most prominent Latinx leaders.

But it’s not just prominence that determined what leaders were selected. 

Designed to “serve and elevate” the diverse backgrounds of Latinx individuals in the state, the council features a range of Latinx leaders from across Pennsylvania who have broken barriers of representation at the highest levels of power.

The announcement came just two days before Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit Philadelphia on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Notably, both the visit and council formation come at a time when many Latinx voters — some, prospective voters — are seeing a sudden pivot by the Biden campaign, as he is now targeting the Latinx vote in earnest.

Earlier this week, Biden visited Florida for the first time since he became the Democratic Presidential Nominee, specifically a community with a high Puerto Rican population. His campaign also strategically dropped the Biden-Harris “Plan for Recovery, Renewal, and Respect for Puerto Rico.”

However, as member Philadelphia Councilwoman, María Quiñones-Sánchez, told Al DÍA: 

“We can be mad that it should have happened sooner, but we need to be engaged about how we get revolution on these issues that frustrate us and really speak to the party’s unwillingness to fully embrace the Puerto Rico and Latino community.”

Quiñonez-Sánchez is, in fact, among those Latinx leaders in the Latino Leadership Council.

So is Pennsylvania State Rep. Danilo Burgos, who will serve as the Council’s chair. 

“I’m honored to be a part of Joe Biden’s Pennsylvania Latino Leadership Council, where we will elevate the diverse voices in our community and ensure that there is a place at the table for us,” Burgos said.

“I know he’s up for the task of building back better – and it's a big one — and I’m ready to support the Biden-Harris team in the fight to defeat President Trump and restore the soul of our nation,” he continued. 

Also on the council is potential history-making Latina and Lancaster City Councilwoman, Janet Díaz. She is running for Pennsylvania’s State Senate (SD-13). If elected, she would be the first Latina ever elected to PA’s State Senate.

Díaz went as far as to say that Biden recognizes Latinx individuals as a deeply nuanced demographic, not just as an umbrella term for the various nationalities and ethnicities that the word “Latinx” encompasses.

“Joe Biden understands that the Latino community is not a monolith, he wants our diverse voices at the table during conversations surrounding outreach and how best to mobilize Latino voters across the Commonwealth,” Díaz said.

The full list of leaders is below.

Danilo Burgos, State Representative (Chair)

Thais Carrero, Executive Director of CASA (Co-Chair)

Olga Negron, Bethlehem City Councilwoman

David Rodriguez, Latino Caucus Chair

Rev. Luis Cortés, Esperanza Charter School

Maria Quinones- Sanchez, Philadelphia City Council

Angel Cruz, State Representative

Ben Sanchez, State Representative

Angel Ortiz, Former Philly City Council

Janet Diaz, Lancaster City Council

Johanny Cepeda Frytiz, Reading City Council

Eddie Moran, Reading City Mayor

Abe Amoros, Former York City Council

Norman Bristol-Colon, Founder of Latino Convention