Advocate, Changemaker, Unifier
Representing approximately 20,000 residents as a first-generation Peruvian immigrant, Andres Castillo-Quintana was elected to office at the age of 25, becoming the first Latino and openly queer council member in his hometown of Bedford, located in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. Before entering the world of politics in 2021, he served as a community health worker and program manager at Open Door Family Medical, a federally qualified health center that enabled him to refine his professional background in public health and bilingual community outreach, leveraging his fluency in Spanish, a deep understanding of systemic barriers to care and personal ties to a wide variety of underserved populations. He was ultimately inspired to run for office by the deep inequities that his patients were facing during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the lack of representation in governing bodies across the nation, which ignited his grassroots campaign to create a model of local government that is fully attuned to the needs and values of communities from all walks of life, ensuring that no one is left behind in the process of advocacy and policymaking. Outside of work, he enjoys Latin dance, adventurous dates with his fiancé Bruno, and volunteering in the most festive ways to create a climate of unity and empowerment for youth and immigrant families.