Antonio Maciel is a teacher in New York City with an extensive background in left-of-center activism and organizing. He currently teaches English as a Second Language (ESL), sometimes called English as a New Language, to middle school students. Previously, he spent nearly a decade as a consultant to left-of-center philanthropic organizations, and more than eleven years with the Open Society Foundations, a major grantmaking institution funded by billionaire left-progressive financier George Soros. He has also worked and held board seats at several other left-of-center grantmaking and advocacy organizations in addition to his independent consulting work. ¹

Maciel received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Delaware, a master’s degree in ESL teaching from the City University of New York, and a law degree from Stanford University. ²

Early Career and Soros Network

After graduating from Stanford University Law School, Maciel worked as a program officer with the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, a New York-based grantmaking organization which primarily supports environmentalist initiatives. In 1996, he joined the Open Society Foundations, the central hub of the Soros Network, one of the largest left-of-center philanthropic institutions in the world. Maciel’s first project was starting up and managing the Emma Lazarus Fund, named after the 19th-century immigration expansion advocate. Maciel claims that the $50 million grant program, intended for non-citizens who were not eligible for government welfare programs, led to more than 300,000 people acquiring American citizenship. In 2000, Maciel became the director of the foundation’s grant and program development, and in 2004, he was appointed as a special advisor to the foundation president. A year later, he also became the director of the foundation’s United States justice fund, which promotes left-of-center law enforcement and criminal justice policies. His final assignment at the Open Society Foundations before leaving in 2008 was senior advisor for all of the foundation’s United States programs. ^{3 4}

Independent Consulting and Teaching Work

Starting in 2008, Maciel spent close to a decade advising left-of-center philanthropic and advocacy organizations on subjects such as program design, strategic planning, executive recruitment, and dispute resolution. He also briefly worked as one of the senior executives of the Arcus Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking organization which primarily supports LGBT and environmentalist initiatives. In 2017, he started the ESL teaching master’s program at the City University of New York, and the following year, he began working as an ESL teacher at a city public school. ⁵

Board, Trustee, and Committee Positions

Maciel has sat on the boards of Hispanics in Philanthropy, an advocacy organization promoting Hispanic participation in left-of-center political causes, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, an immigration expansion advocacy group. He also sat on the selection committee for new fellows of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fund for New Americans, which was founded by Paul Soros, the older brother of George Soros, to provide graduate school fellowships to immigrants. Since 2008, Maciel has been a trustee of the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank which advocates for granting legal status to illegal immigrants, as well as expanding immigration and refugee programs. ^{6 7}

 

 

1. Antonio Maciel. LinkedIn. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-maciel-4b263b20/
2. Antonio Maciel. LinkedIn. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-maciel-4b263b20/
3. “Emma Lazarus.” Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed October 24, 2021.

   https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/emma-lazarus

4. Antonio Maciel. LinkedIn. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-maciel-4b263b20/
5. Antonio Maciel. LinkedIn. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-maciel-4b263b20/
6. Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.pdsoros.org/
7. Antonio Maciel. LinkedIn. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-maciel-4b263b20/