Gladis Merino is the political director for GIFFORDS. Prior to this role, she served as US Senator Mark Kelly’s political director throughout his 2022 reelection campaign in Arizona. Gladis successfully led the strategic development and implementation of the political and outreach program, which included building the widest and most diverse coalition program. Previously, Gladis also served as the deputy outreach director for Senator Kelly’s Washington DC office and as Latinx outreach director for his 2020 Senate campaign.

Gladis has also worked at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as part of Secretary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign in Nevada and Colorado. Gladis was born in El Salvador and raised in Watts, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. She is a graduate of UC Irvine.