Luis Angel Islas

Luis Islas, a passionate advocate for indigenous justice, resilience, and community empowerment, draws strength from his Indigenous and Mexican-American heritage. Luis is the son of two proud undocumented parents who hail from both the state of Nayarit in Mexico and the state of Michoacan. He was the first in his family to go to college and subsequently the first to attend graduate school. He then went on to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tsiombe, Madagascar. This experience working in humanitarian aid led Luis to pursue a life of work in various roles within the nonprofit sector, from working as the Regional Philanthropy Officer of the American Red Cross to serving as the Director of Philanthropy of the ACLU of Montana. In 2020 Luis was named one of Idaho’s Rising Leaders by the Idaho Nonprofit Center and then in 2022 he was named an Idaho Accomplished 40 under 40 recipient, an honor that honors 40 dynamic people in industry, government, and the nonprofit sector who will be the decision-makers of tomorrow. Also, in 2022, Luis became one of TEDxMSU's first-ever speakers centering his talk on A Story of Perseverance and the Power of Opportunity. Most recently, Luis was selected as one of Southwest Montana's 20 Under 40, an honor that recognizes those who have achieved success in business, as an entrepreneur or employee & improves the quality of life for others in the community.