Meet Andrés Cano

Andrés Cano is currently pursuing his Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the former Democratic Leader in the Arizona House of Representatives, where he represented District 20 (Tucson) from 2019 to 2023. Throughout his near six years in public office, Cano served as the Ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, & Water, and also served as the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Ways & Means.

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​From 2020 to 2023, Andrés was the Director of the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund, a philanthropic initiative of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. ​During his tenure, Andrés cultivated major gifts with individual and corporate partners to advance the Fund's grant-making​ and permanent endowment.
 

Raised by a single mom, Andrés, 31, saw a path for advancement in Arizona’s public schools. He is a first-generation college graduate.

 

Prior to elected office, Andrés served as a senior aide to Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías from 2012 to 2018. In this role, Andrés prioritized policies to advance juvenile justice reform, improve public health, and increase investment in neighborhood infrastructure.

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Andrés served as President of the Young Democrats of Arizona in college, was named an HIV360 Fellow with the Human Rights Campaign in 2016, and served on the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee from 2019 to 2021. From 2021 to 2022, he served on the Progressive Turnout Project's Fellowship Advisory Board.

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Andrés' extensive community engagement has been recognized by the Center for the Future of Arizona (2016, Emerging Leader,) the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2017, 40 Under 40,) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (2020, Young Alumnus Award.)
 

Andrés will complete his graduate studies in May 2024.