Adriana Cadena is Executive Director of Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF), a national cross-sector coalition of more than 800 organizations advancing access to health care, food, housing, tax credits, and other essential supports for immigrant families. Since joining PIF in 2022, she has sharpened the coalition’s vision, expanded its strategic reach, and helped transform it from a single-issue campaign into a powerful movement force for dignity, equity, and belonging.
With more than two decades of experience in community and labor organizing, policy advocacy, coalition building, and organizational leadership, Adriana builds durable partnerships and turns shared values into coordinated action. Rooted in her experience growing up undocumented in a small Texas town and currently living on the border, she leads with clarity, courage, and a deep commitment to ensuring every family, regardless of immigration status, has the resources and opportunity to thrive.
Adriana holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley. She was selected as a 2025 Fellow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Family Fellowship Program.
