Leslie Sanchez

Leslie Sanchez is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Castelion. She is the former White House Executive Director and served as a CBS News Analyst, where she was known for her commentary on power, influence, and the evolving landscape of American politics. Trained as a pollster and market research analyst, Sanchez joined CBS News as a political analyst, contributing to the network's streaming news properties and broadcasts, including Election Night coverage, primaries, political debates, and conventions. She provided analysis of the White House, Congress, and statewide elections, and has developed documentary content for CBS News Streaming on topics such as immigrant workers in forestry, Latino Republicans in South Texas, and the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

Sanchez was the first Latina political contributor to provide analysis on Sunday public affairs shows and became the first Hispanic woman to deliver prime-time election analysis on the CBS News desk during Midterm Election Night coverage.

Before her media career, Sanchez worked in government and Republican politics. She served as deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee, where she was one of the principal architects of the organization's first multimillion-dollar advertising campaign aimed at Hispanic voters, a program credited with helping George W. Bush secure a record share of the Latino vote. President Bush later appointed Sanchez executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, where she built a grassroots network of 20,000 parents, educators, and students and issued two Presidential Commission reports focused on closing the academic achievement gap.

Sanchez is the author of two books: "Los Republicanos: Why Hispanics and Republicans Need Each Other," which examines Latino voting patterns, and "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Sarah, Michelle, Hillary and the Shaping of the New American Woman," which explores the challenges women face in presidential politics. Her analysis has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and U.S. News & World Report.

In addition to her media and political work, Sanchez founded Impacto Group Media, a communications and market research firm whose documentaries and short-form content have raised significant funds for Hispanic-oriented causes. She was named a Johns Hopkins University Leadership Fellow and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a B.A. from The George Washington University. Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the nation's 100 Most Influential Hispanics, and Houston Chronicle designated her a Texas Powerbroker for her influence in Washington. Sanchez has spoken to more than 400 audiences worldwide, including Fortune 100 boardrooms and global conferences, bringing political experience, data-driven insight, and storytelling to her engagements.