Hendel Leiva is the Manager of Podcasts and Audio Initiatives at Race Forward and a podcast strategist and producer with more than a decade of experience shaping narrative through audio for national, mission-driven institutions. His work focuses on democracy and public-interest storytelling, guiding organizations in building impactful, long-running podcast series. He brings editorial discipline, strategic clarity, and deep production fluency to help organizations translate complex ideas into durable audio infrastructure.
He is the creator of Immigration MIC (2015–2020), a narrative podcast series built from more than 100 interviews documenting a pivotal period in U.S. immigration politics. The project captured the lived experiences of communities navigating shifting policy, enforcement, and public discourse, and now serves as a narrative archive of that moment.
Through On The Mic SoundWorks and as host of Podcasting An Institute, Hendel is advancing the development of an Audio × Democracy Institute, an initiative that positions audio as essential civic infrastructure. The work focuses on building systems for long-form storytelling that preserve movement memory, expand public understanding, and create more accessible pathways for participation in democratic life.
“Arenas where storytelling is treated as power define the work ahead. At NLI, I’ll be looking to sharpen my vision for an Audio × Democracy Institute, positioning audio as both a media arts practice and cultural infrastructure rooted in memory, voice, and civic life.”
Photo Credit: Aaron Lawrence