Juanita Ramos

Community advocate, voting and housing rights activist for the poor

Juanita Ramos has worked for the advancement of the Latino community and all low-income residents of North Philadelphia for more than thirty years, using her inimitable personality and drive as a tool to increase community involvement and political participation. At age 74, she has not slowed down a bit.

Juanita was born in Puerto Rico’s city of Humacao, and was raised and educated in its city of Juncos. She moved to Chicago after high school, where she worked for that city’s department of education for fifteen years, and was an instrumental volunteer in the mayor’s summer program for youth, increasing access to employment and mentoring for teens.

Juanita moved to Philadelphia, and turned her attention to increasing voter registration and participation, to ensure that her community’s vote truly counts. She has personally registered over 15,000 residents in Philadelphia and New Jersey, knocking on countless doors and engaging voters on the issues that matter to them. In 2012 Juanita was presented with an AARP Leaders of Hope award at the “No Mas Hambre” forum on the problem of hunger in Philadelphia’s Latino communities and was honored by City Council for her tireless work registering voters and empowering her community.

Juanita continues to advocate for those who cannot fight for themselves, helping to resolve numerous housing, employment, and neighborhood safety matters for her large network of registered voters and strongly advocating for protection and equal opportunities for seniors. Juanita is known for her clear convictions and for always being willing to “speak truth to power.”

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