After serving a tour as an FSO in São Paulo, Miguel pursued a graduate degree in Islamic studies at McGill University. Near the end of his studies, however, Miguel’s father received his second diagnosis of cancer attributable to Agent Orange exposure. Miguel paused his academic career to take care of his father, who passed away in 2016.
Miguel returned to the community he had fallen in love with back in 2012: Washington, DC. As a new resident, he worked to finish his graduate studies and rejoined the federal government as an intelligence analyst at the Department of Homeland Security.
However, after witnessing the erosion of democratic norms under the Trump Administration, the hyper-militarized response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the insurrection of January 6, Miguel acted on his deep sense of civic duty by leaving the federal government and joining the pro-democracy movement. Recognizing that American democracy needs renewal and innovation, not just a return to the status quo ante, Miguel became active with electoral reform organizations. He joined the Initiative 83 campaign and became its lead organizer, advocating for ranked-choice voting in DC to increase voters’ power and choice in local elections. After speaking with thousands of Washingtonians across the city and building coalitions in every ward, Initiative 83 passed with 73% of the vote in the 2024 general election. Ranked-choice voting is now being used District-wide.
Miguel isn’t only an advocate, though; he’s also a practitioner of the kind of politics he champions. When Miguel discovered that his ANC seat was vacant, he decided to run to help Malcolm X Park reach its full potential. Miguel won a contested election and got to work fulfilling his campaign promise to increase engagement in the park. He recruited neighbors for monthly cleanups, started a newsletter to build a cohesive community of park advocates, and organized various events to uplift the park as a place for solidarity. Miguel brought the first-ever “Shakespeare in the Park” performance to Malcolm X and, with his partner Luis (himself a terminated USAID employee), hosted a Day of Celebration in the park for neighbors laid off from USAID, other foreign-affairs agencies, and their implementing partners.
In January 2025, Miguel was elected chairman of ANC 1B, a position he holds to this day.
