Tremillo helped grow TOP into a political powerhouse rooted in Black & Latino communities; leadership transition to be announced later in June
Michelle Tremillo, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), announced this past Friday that she will transition from TOP at the end of 2025 after 16 years of building one of the country’s most effective grassroots political organizations.
“TOP was founded to do what others said wasn’t possible: build a statewide powerhouse rooted in community, strategy, and justice. And we did,” Tremillo said. “I feel immense pride in what we’ve accomplished, and deep excitement for what comes next.”
Since co-founding TOP in 2009, the organization has become a leading force for building Black and Latino political power through strategic, community-rooted organizing and electoral engagement. Under Tremillo’s tenure, TOP developed the largest Black voter engagement program and the largest in-person Latino voter engagement program in Texas.
“We built our own infrastructure to win at the local level,” Tremillo explained. “Through our year-round organizing campaigns, we created systems that ensure the people most impacted by injustice have real decision-making power.”
TOP’s organizing has delivered transformative wins for working-class Black and Latino Texans, such as successfully pushing for enhanced library cards to be recognized as valid forms of identification in cities including San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston, expanding access to public services for more than 10 million Texans; securing tens of millions of dollars for disaster recovery, home repair, and rent relief, advancing the belief that housing is a human right; and built a Black and Latino-led political force that has reached more than five million voters and helped elect dozens of progressive champions, from district attorneys, to mayors, to members of Congress.
“We reimagined what people-power could look like in Texas,” Tremillo said. “It wasn’t about empire-building. It was about building an ecosystem of power for Texas that will outlast any individual leader.”
Tremillo restructured TOP’s internal culture around transparency and inclusion, co-creating structures like County Leadership Teams to institutionalize member-led decision-making and establishing leadership pipelines that elevated local voices from member to organizer to movement leader.
“Michelle’s leadership has always been about the people,” said Dr. Doshie Piper, Maria Victoria de la Cruz, and Debra Walker, Co-Presidents of TOP and TOPEF (Texas Organizing Project Education Fund) Boards. “She co-founded a movement that reflects the power, brilliance, and resilience of Black and Latino Texans.”
Elected Leaders Praise Tremillo’s Impact
“Texas politics looks different today because of Michelle and TOP,” said San Antonio City Councilmember Jalen McKee Rodriguez. “In a state where the odds are steep, she’s built a strategy and an organization that has made real power possible for Black and Latino communities. Her legacy lives in the leaders she’s developed, the systems she’s transformed, and the wins that once felt out of reach.”
“Michelle doesn’t just lead, she builds,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “She built infrastructure where none existed, mentored a generation of organizers, and refused to settle for symbolic change. The foundation she laid will continue shifting power in Texas long after her tenure ends.”
“Michelle Tremillo has helped shape Texas into a place where people, not corporations or political insiders, hold power,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro. “She didn’t just fight for a seat at the table; she built a new table and made sure it was led by our communities. She’s changed the conversation, and the consequences of that will ripple for decades.”
TOP’s Next Chapter
TOP’s Board of Directors will announce the next phase of leadership in the coming weeks. The transition, years in the making, reflects a deliberate commitment to sustainability and shared power.
“Michelle has set the bar for what transformative leadership looks like,” said Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of TOP. “She’s led with integrity, humility, and an unwavering belief in the power of our people. It’s been a privilege to lead alongside her as we’ve built an organization grounded in shared values and real results.”
“This organization has never been about one person,” Tremillo concluded. “We’ve built something enduring, an ensemble of brilliant, grounded, and relentless people who are ready to take TOP into its next era.”
###
About Texas Organizing Project:
TOP organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.