Diana Maldonado
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A community, political and educational leader in the Central Texas region, Diana Maldonado will drive forward Jolt’s mission to harness the power of young Latinos to transform Texas through their voice and their vote.
She joins Jolt through her role as CEO and President of Maldonado Strategies, LLC, where she positions businesses for success and lasting impact. In her prior role as President and CEO of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, she implemented the CEO Speaker Series to bring dialogue and connections that impact Latino business and issues.
Diana is the first Latina elected to represent Williamson County in the Texas House of Representatives during which time she authored and co-authored 88 bills and was named “Freshman of the Year” by her colleagues. She served in an Executive role for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, was appointed to the State Affairs and Defense & Veterans Affairs Committees, served as President of the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees and spent two decades building a career at the Texas State Comptroller’s Office.
Jackie Bastard
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Jackie is a first generation college graduate. She attended the University of Houston Downtown where she obtained a B.S. in Criminal Justice and then obtained a M.A. in Criminology from the University of Houston Clear Lake.
Jackie is excited to be part of Jolt, an organization that empowers, equips, and mobilizes individuals to speak up not only for themselves but for those who are afraid to do so for fear of reprisal.
Maria Tolentino
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Maria is a proud Texas native, Chicana, and first-generation Mexican-American. She is the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers and daughter to immigrant mother from Monterrey, Mexico. Maria has been in the non-profit sector for 16 years working with underserved communities, single-parent households and at-risk youth to remove barriers while developing employment and educational opportunities. She is a proud mother of five and a hobby sugar artist/baker for local and national charities.
Through her personal experiences of the injustices facing the Latinx communities and political issues that were near and dear to her heart, she was drawn to become involved with Jolt. She wants to be a voice of empowerment and become a force for positive change in the Latinx community.
She hopes to encourage, educate and mobilize the Latinx community to use their voting power for positive change in addition to advocating for those who cannot vote.