Presenter

Dr.Eli Valentin

Eli Valentin is Assistant Dean of Graduate and Leadership Studies and Executive Director of Latino Initiatives at Virginia Union University. For more than sixteen years, he served as senior pastor of several American Baptist churches in New York City. In addition to his pastoral work, Valentin served as a political advisor to numerous elected officials across the nation. He is the editor of Sermons from the Latino/a Pulpit and the author of Politicking in the Barrio: Essays on Latino Politics in New York. Valentin’s next book, A History of Latino Politics in New York, is under contract with Palgrave Macmillan. He writes regular columns for numerous news outlets and frequently appears as a political analyst on Univision New York and NY1 News. Valentin has also provided political commentary for CNN, The New York Times, and National Public Radio (NPR). For the last two years, Valentin has been named by City and State as one of the top 100 Latinos in politics and policy in the state of New York.