By: Emily Konouchi | 2021 Board Member

Board member Karla MacIntyre has some exciting news: she’s now a registered voter in Tennessee! 

If you read our recent Board Spotlight feature on Karla, you know she became acquainted with TNJFON because she was advocating for a peer who was facing deportation in 2011. When DACA was instituted in 2012, Karla herself became a TNJFON client and gained protected status under the law. 

In 2021, after years of meetings, paperwork and waiting, Karla became a U.S. citizen! We celebrated her at our quarterly board meeting, where Karla reminded us of her personal journey with TNJFON.

“Going from a TNJFON client to a board member has been truly special,” said Karla. “This experience has made me grow professionally and as a human. I’ve served in several committees and have had the privilege of welcoming new board members over the past two years as the Nominations chair. It means so much to celebrate my citizenship with this group.”

Karla gets inspired by seeing people accomplish something important to them, whether it’s a new goal or a lifelong dream — especially when they’ve overcome barriers to achieve it. And she’s no stranger to setting and achieving her own goals. 

“I am really proud of learning about civic engagement and teaching others about it. I’ve volunteered at voting locations for the past few years and I have enjoyed seeing other people vote for the first time,” said Karla. This year will be super special because I just became a registered voter on September 28 — National Voter Registration Day. I can’t wait to exercise my right to vote in upcoming elections!” 

Karla credits Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors for supporting her immigration journey. “TNJFON’s staff of 4 is small, but their work is mighty powerful — they’ve changed thousands of lives in our state and I want to help contribute to their efforts in any way that I can.”

“I support TNJFON because it has always supported those neighbors that often get left behind. It’s an organization that sees a person as more than a client, it sees them as vecino worthy of the opportunity to live in their community without fear. It’s beautiful to know that the staff, board members, and volunteers will always advocate for our vecinos to get the freedom and justice they deserve. I have personally felt their support in my journey and throughout my board service for the past six years.”

To help TNJFON help more people like Karla, donate today.