Meet our Leadership
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio
Founder
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio
Founder
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio is the visionary behind Disrupt, serving as the movement’s Founder. Raised in Florida and based in New York City, he is a Cuban American organizer and content creator whose decade of political experience spans the New York State Senate, NYC Council, local campaign management, and digital strategy. Carlos previously served as a 2024 DNC Delegate and President of the Brooklyn Young Democrats.
Driven to challenge entrenched corporate influence, he built Disrupt to bypass traditional political structures to directly moblilize the new generation. He leverages his background to drive the movement’s explosive online growth and spearhead its rapidly expanding nationwide chapter network.
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio
Founder
Carlos Calzadilla-Palacio is the visionary behind Disrupt, serving as the movement’s Founder. Raised in Florida and based in New York City, he is a Cuban American organizer and content creator whose decade of political experience spans the New York State Senate, NYC Council, local campaign management, and digital strategy. Carlos previously served as a 2024 DNC Delegate and President of the Brooklyn Young Democrats.
Driven to challenge entrenched corporate influence, he built Disrupt to bypass traditional political structures to directly moblilize the new generation. He leverages his background to drive the movement’s explosive online growth and spearhead its rapidly expanding nationwide chapter network.
Shira Ben-Ami
Director of Operations & Development
Shira Malka Ben-Ami is the strategic engine behind Disrupt, serving as the Director of Operations and Development. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, she is a political generalist whose background balances frontline field organizing and communications with backend administration and fundraising.
Shira graduated from Cornell University with Distinction in all Subjects. Driven by a passion for bringing all sides together, she made the pivot away from the party establishment to focus on uniting all political shades around common issues and shared goals. At Disrupt, she focuses her expertise on building the solid financial foundations and resilient internal infrastructure required to scale the movement nationwide.
Alexa Michelle Matos is a Gen Z Puerto Rican digital strategist, communicator, and movement builder from Miami, Florida, working at the intersection of politics, organizing, and online culture. Her work centers on understanding how younger generations engage with information, build community, and translate digital participation into real-world action and political power.
A graduate of the University of South Florida, Alexa serves as Director of Movement at Disrupt, where she leads communications strategy, organizing initiatives, and content operations designed to mobilize young people and strengthen movement infrastructure at scale. She oversees efforts that bridge online engagement with grassroots organizing, helping develop programs and digital ecosystems that turn audiences into communities and communities into action.
Alexa Matos
Director of Movement & Media
Alexa Michelle Matos is a Gen Z Puerto Rican digital strategist, communicator, and movement builder from Miami, Florida, working at the intersection of politics, organizing, and online culture. Her work centers on understanding how younger generations engage with information, build community, and translate digital participation into real-world action and political power.
A graduate of the University of South Florida, Alexa serves as Director of Movement at Disrupt, where she leads communications strategy, organizing initiatives, and content operations designed to mobilize young people and strengthen movement infrastructure at scale. She oversees efforts that bridge online engagement with grassroots organizing, helping develop programs and digital ecosystems that turn audiences into communities and communities into action.