Gaby Pacheco

President and CEO, TheDream.US

Maria Gabriela (“Gaby”) Pacheco, an influential immigrant rights and education leader from Miami, Florida, is the President and CEO of TheDream.US. As an immigrant with a mixed-status family, she intimately understands the complexities and challenges faced by immigrant families in the US. For two decades, Pacheco has played a pivotal role in advocating for immigration and immigrant rights. In 2010, alongside three undocumented students, she led the Trail of Dreams, a remarkable four-month walk from Miami to Washington, DC. Two years later, she spearheaded efforts to establish the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Pacheco made history as the first undocumented Latina to testify before Congress on April 22, 2013, addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee and highlighting the urgent need for immigration reform.

Pacheco’s exceptional contributions have garnered recognition and accolades. She was listed in Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30: Education” and “40 Under 40: Latinos in American Politics.” She received an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humanities from The New School in 2015 and was featured in Elle magazine’s 30th-anniversary issue, “This is 30,” alongside the world’s 30 most notable women. She also appeared on the June 2012 TIME Magazine cover along with 30 other immigrant leaders.

Pacheco is a highly sought-after national political analyst, regularly sharing her expertise on networks such as Univision, Telemundo, MSNBC, CNN, and CNN en Español. She has also contributed opinion pieces to newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.

Despite being undocumented, Pacheco fought for higher education and earned multiple degrees in education from Miami Dade College.

On June 21, 2023, Pacheco achieved one of her biggest dreams and became a naturalized US Citizen. Gaby resides in Miami with her husband and their four rescued dogs.