Whether they’re leading dialogue within the Latino community, challenging politicians to tough questions or raising awareness about causes important to them, these 19 women represent our picks for the most powerful Latinas in social media.

(in alphabetical order)

Name: Midy Aponte

Handle: @MidyAponte

Bio: Aponte is the president and CEO of the Sánchez Ricardo Agency, a Washington, D.C.-based digital media and communications firm that caters to the Hispanic market. She’s also the interim executive director of the American Latino Heritage Fund, which aims to preserve Latino culture and history and increase the participation of Latinos in National Parks.

Sample Tweet: Brewed my second colada of #Bustelo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_espreso … Let the writing begin! Happy Wednesday!

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Name: Melissa del Bosque

Handle: @MelissaLaLinea

Bio: Follow del Bosque’s blog La Linea for all things immigration and U.S.-Mexico border relations and catch her intriguing long-form investigations in The Texas Observer.

Sample Tweet: Reporter Mario Segura missing in Tamaulipas. He is editor of El Sol de Sur in Tampico http://bit.ly/PqX9v4

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Name: Leticia Caban

Handle: @BellaVidaLetty

Bio: Caban is a culture and lifestyle blogger, but she’s also part of Latino Rebels, an online- magazine-meets-social-media-collective dedicated to “new media, independence and mayhem.”

Sample Tweet: To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. http://bellavidabyletty.blogspot.com/2012/08/are-you-there.html …

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Name: Maria Cardona

Handle: @MariaTCardona

Bio: This former senior advisor to Hillary Clinton is a Democratic strategist, contributor to CNN and a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications and government relations company where Cardona founded Latinovations, which focuses on Latino issue advocacy and outreach.

Sample Tweet: Join me @CNN 8 & 10 pm hr @AC360 w @Soledad_OBrien anchoring! Will discuss #RomneyRyan2012 vision, #Medicare, distractions & more! Thoughts?

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Name: Esther Cepeda

Handle: @estherjcepeda

Bio: Cepeda is a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group who specializes in U.S. Latino issues. She wrote a weekly column for the Chicago Sun-Times for six years and was the city’s first Latino metro columnist.

Sample Tweet: BTW, I love the fact that HuffPost @latinovoices consistently features Asian voices. This one is particularly great: http://ow.ly/1Op5ZR

 

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Name: Cristy Clavijo-Kish

Handle: @latinomarketing

Bio: Clavijo-Kish wears many hats: she’s the CEO at Hispanicize Digital, the founder of Los Tweens, a site dedicated to parents of diverse pre-teens, and a co-founder of the collective Latina Mom Bloggers.

Sample Tweet: Getting ready to meet @ponchodeanda for a #HuggiesLatino program with @latinamomblogs #Latinamoms – whooo!

 

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Name: Aurelia Flores

Handle: @LatinaLeader

Bio: The San Diego-based Flores is the founder of PowerfulLatinas.com, a five-year-old online venture that links up Latinas looking to learn from one another’s life lessons. She’s also a senior counsel at SAIC, a Fortune 500 technology company.

Sample Tweet: See Sundance selection Mosquita y Mari today @ Cinema Village. Want more info? http://bit.ly/OxxEpk  #belatino

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Name: Maria Hinojosa

Handle: @Maria_Hinojosa

Bio: The award-winning and trail-blazing Mexican-American journalist is currently the anchor and managing editor of NPR’s Latino USA. She’s also the host of her own talk show, Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, during which she interviews prominent U.S. artists, writers, activists and civic leaders.

Sample Tweet: We are profiling the most influential Latino you have never heard of for @NPR & @latinoUSA. On my way to speak to him in Cali now….

 

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Name: Viviana Hurtado

Handle: @vivianahurtado

Bio: A journalist with experience in print and TV, Hurtado is now the lead blogger behind The Wise Latina Club, where she writes about everything from politics and immigration to food and celebrities.

Sample Tweet: R u “surprised” by 1000s of Illegal Immigrants lining up 4 deferred action? Remember ’06 #immigration rallies? http://nyti.ms/PdDkrC  #Latism

 

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Name: Maria Teresa Kumar

Handle: @MariaTeresa1

Bio: As its founding executive director, Kumar is a leading force behind Voto Latino, the organization that registers and empowers Latino youth to vote. Kumar also created and directed Voto Latino’s civic engagement campaigns, boosting the organization’s digital presence.

Sample Tweet: @nytimes: When a Taste for Publicity Bites Back http://nyti.ms/OJo6d3  ” racial profiling catching up w #JoeArpaio what took so long?

 

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Name: Adriana Maestas

Handle: @LatinoPolitics

Bio: Maestas is a senior contributing editor at Politic365, a news site that explores politics from a multicultural point of view, where she specializes in issues important to the Latino population.

Sample Tweet: no surprise here – Gov. Jan Brewer: No Public Benefits for Deferred Action Recipients http://bit.ly/N3KArs  #DACA #dreamact

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Name:  Soledad O’Brien

Handle: @Soledad_OBrien

Bio: O’Brien is one of the most prominent and visible journalists in the United States. In addition to anchoring “Starting Point” on CNN, she has hosted documentaries, including Black in America and Latino in America, for which she also wrote a companion book.

Sample Tweet: “@HspncElvis: @Soledad_OBrien Hola! Listo Para El Lunes?”// claro que si!

 

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Name: Angélica Perez-Litwin

Handle: @NewLatina

Bio: The New York-based Perez-Litwin is a psychologist and life coach who founded and publishes New Latina, a site that offers women advice on personal growth, empowerment and career advancement.

Sample Tweet: Latinas Open Up About Their Struggle With Weight and Beauty Ideals: “It Starts Young…”…. http://su.pr/1xSb3B  #LATISM #LatinaLeadership

 

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Name: Elianne Ramos

Handle: @ergeekgoddess

Bio: Based in Baltimore, Ramos is an active volunteer at LATISM, where she leads the organization’s Thursday night Twitter chats, writes the blog and serves as the vice-chair of communication and public relations. Ramos is also the CEO at her company, Speak Hispanic Communications, and a columnist for the Huffington Post’s Latino Voices.

Sample Tweet: Want to find out voting ID requirements in your state? There’s an app for that – My latest for @NBCLatino http://goo.gl/g1odm  #latism

 

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Name: Ana Roca Castro

Handle: @AnaRC

Bio: Roca Castro is best-known as the founder of LATISM, but the Albany-based entrepreneur is also the CEO of Premier Transmedia, a company that works on building apps, educational games and interactive social media presences for corporate brands.

Sample Tweet: With @YosAcevedo fashion editor of @PeopleenEspanol exploring opportunities for our #LatinaBloggers #Latismpic.twitter.com/vrPvcGht

 

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Name: María Elena Salinas

Handle: @MariaESalinas

Bio: One of the most prominent and recognizable Latina journalists, Salinas is co-anchor of the weekday Noticiero Univision with Jorge Ramos and co-host of Univision’s Saturday program, “Aquí y Ahora.” She can be found tweeting in both English and Spanish.

Sample Tweet: I will be wearing red shoes on the newscast today, tuesday, in support of @RedShoesMove to promote women’s professional growth.

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Name: Eva Smith

Handle: @Eva_Smith

Bio: The Southern California-based Smith is an IT architect and tech and lifestyle blogger. A co-founder of Latina Mom Bloggers, she can be found writing at her blog, Tech.Food.Life.

Sample Tweet: Featured Latinos in Digital Media is out! http://bit.ly/gpv6nf  ▸ Top stories today via @LatinaLeader @RachlWhite @yesiortiz

 

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Name: Roxana A. Soto

Handle: @roxanaSB

Bio: Together with Ana Flores, Soto founded SpanglishBaby, a site about raising bilingual and bicultural children. Soto, who is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, and Flores also authored the soon-to-be-released book “Bilingual is Better.”

Sample Tweet: 6 Lessons About Raising Bilingual Children from a Non-Native Speaker http://spanglishbaby.com/2012/06/6-lessons-about-raising-bilingual-children-from-a-non-native-speaker/ … Lots to consider, especially if ur getting started

 

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Name: Eliana Tardío

Handle: @ELIANATARDIO

Bio: The Ft. Myers-based Tardío can be found blogging at elianatardio.com, where she writes about what it’s like to be the mother of two children with Down syndrome. Her positive and uplifting tweets are in English and Spanish.

Sample Tweet: #divorce of parents of children with #specialneeds #disabilities @ElianaTardio @mamiverse http://bit.ly/OT5Mfe  #education