Lakshmi Mosquera Herrera 

CHCI Public Policy Fellow

Presented by ConocoPhillips  

Hometown: Washington, D.C. 

School: Trinity Washington University 

Degree: B.A in Global Affairs 

Placement: Office of Rep. Jasmine Crockett 

Lakshmi Mosquera Herrera (she/her) is an Afro-Latina immigrant born in Colombia and raised in Washington, D.C., by a single mother whose resilience and advocacy inspired Lakshmi’s lifelong commitment to equity and systemic justice. She began organizing at age 13 with United We Dream, where she participated in community education and immigrant defense campaigns. This early involvement showed her how federal policies often exclude those most directly impacted and how grassroots movements can challenge and transform those systems.  

Lakshmi graduated magna cum laude from Trinity Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Affairs and a minor in Latin American Development Studies. At Trinity, she co-founded the Debate Society and led the Model UN team, creating new opportunities for students to engage in international issues. She also served as vice president of the Black Student Alliance and her graduating class, working to strengthen student leadership and inclusion. Her achievements earned her the university’s highest academic and leadership honors, including the T-Pin Award, induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the U.S, and the Mary Boyle McCrory Award for excellence in writing.  

Beyond campus, Lakshmi has worked across the immigration policy landscape, from grassroots organizing to federal-level research and advocacy. As a federal advocacy intern with United We Dream and a migration policy intern at the American Friends Service Committee, she tracked immigration legislation, drafted policy briefs, and supported campaigns for immigrant protections. She deepened her global policy perspective through fellowships at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she co-authored policy recommendations on election security and artificial intelligence, and at Citizens for Global Solutions, where she represented the organization at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).  

As a CHCI Public Policy Fellow, Lakshmi aims to expand her knowledge in federal immigration policy and advocate for equitable, community-informed policy solutions. Her long-term goal is to help shape a policymaking culture that centers the resilience, insight, and lived experience of immigrant and underrepresented communities.