Meet Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias.
Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias is a public servant, organizer, and policy advocate running to represent East Charlotte on the Charlotte City Council. His story, like many in our community, begins in the heart of the community he hopes to serve: East Charlotte.
The bilingual son of working-class Colombian immigrants, JD grew up watching his mother, an administrative assistant for Latino-owned small businesses, and his father, a construction worker, work tirelessly to build a better future for their family. His experiences as an immigrant and working-class Charlottean shaped his deep commitment to ensuring every resident—regardless of background—has a voice in shaping the city’s future.
JD attended Idlewild Elementary, Randolph Middle, and East Mecklenburg High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queens University of Charlotte as a Golden Door Scholar, breaking barriers for undocumented and immigrant students in higher education. He later pursued a Master of Public Administration at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service on a full-tuition fellowship, where he was elected President of the Wagner Student Association and awarded the Robert Berne Leadership Award for his leadership and service.
JD’s career began like that of many East Charlotte residents—working in food and retail, first at a fast food restaurant and later at the Apple Store. But his passion for advocacy led him to work on political campaigns at the congressional and presidential levels before joining the Democratic National Committee as an inaugural Organizing Corps member. He later became a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellow, focusing on workforce development, economic equity, educational reform, and immigration.
He worked as a Public Policy Fellow at the Aspen Institute’s Latinos & Society Program, where he developed economic mobility and workforce development strategies for Latino communities nationwide. He went on to serve in Congress as a Legislative Fellow in the Office of U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, where he co-led her immigration policy portfolio, advocating for humane immigration reforms and stronger protections for immigrant communities. JD then joined The Century Foundation, a leading progressive think tank, as a Senior Government Affairs Assistant, advocating for racial and disability equity in education, workforce development, healthcare, and economic policy.
Since returning to Charlotte, JD has focused on building political power for underrepresented communities. He currently serves as Chair of the Hispanic Democratic Caucus of Mecklenburg County and is the founder of the North Carolina Latino Political Caucus, an emerging 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to increasing Latino civic participation. He also helped launch Mecklenburg Unidos, a Latino voter outreach initiative during the 2024 presidential election, where he recruited bilingual volunteers to engage Latino voters in East Charlotte.
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