Astrid Silva arrived in Nevada with her family at the age of 5 after immigrating from Mexico just a year prior. Silva spent most of her life in the shadows. In 2009, an encounter with an unlikely ally Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed this in a most unexpected way. She began getting more deeply involved in the politics surrounding the DREAM Act and became the poster child for the legislation in her home state of Nevada. At the time, she was one of only a handful of students in the state, who had so publicly revealed their undocumented identity and status.

Silva grew a club that aimed to educate the community about issues facing DREAMers and their families. While in its infancy, Dream Big Nevada received national acclaim for its work with DREAMers in Nevada.

Silva has also received local and national acclaim for her work. She was named Youth Immigrant of the Year for the American Immigration Council in 2014, was named a rising Civil Rights leader by the Los Angeles Times and delivered the first Spanish language Democratic response to President Trump’s first speech to Congress in 2017.

While her advocacy has grown outside the immigration field, she continues to raise her voice and empower others so that together they can achieve their goal – keeping families, like hers, together.