Yanelis Valdes

Yanelis Valdes joined GreenLight Fund Miami as Program Manager in January 2025, bringing with her a deep commitment to racial, gender, and economic justice and extensive experience in advocacy, nonprofit capacity building, and community organizing.

Prior to joining GreenLight, she led community engagement for the Build a Better Miami coalition, which brought together community organizations and labor unions to demand a community benefits agreement for the largest proposed redevelopment project in Miami history. In a previous role as Director of Organizing and Advocacy at Engage Miami, an organization focused on youth civic education and participatory governance, she led successful campaigns addressing local gerrymandering, influenced county investments in housing and climate resilience, and strengthened membership and leadership development. Yanelis also implemented a successful capacity building program for 18 youth-serving community-based organizations as the Capacity Building Program Manager for Catalyst Miami.

Yanelis was born and raised in Miami-Dade County and studied International Affairs and Communications at Florida State University. Before moving back home, she supported national public health communications campaigns for a youth nutrition and physical activity research collaborative and several HIV prevention projects addressing stigma at FHI 360, an organization dedicated to evidence-based solutions to advance equity, health, and well-being.