Bio

Operations Director

Nayeli Pelayo is the Operations Director at NCRC’s Community Development Fund where she oversees the management of the organization’s programs and internal operations. Nayeli has over 10 years of experience working in advocacy for social justice non-profits with an emphasis in DEI, communications, fundraising, and people management at organizations including the National Immigration Law Center, American Immigration Council, and GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic. Most recently, she served as a co-executive director at Progress Pop, a non-profit focused on producing pop culture content to increase civic participation with the goal of making the U.S. a more equitable society.

She holds a master’s degree in Public Administration with a certification in Nonprofit Sector Management from California State University, Northridge, and a bachelor’s in Journalism. Originally from California, Nayeli is bilingual in Spanish with native fluency and currently lives in the DMV on a small suburban homestead with her husband and son.