Steven Renderos (he/him) is the Executive Director of MediaJustice, a national racial justice organization that advances the media and technology rights of people of color.
For the past decade, Steven has led campaigns at MediaJustice that lowered the cost of prison phone calls, secured net neutrality rules, and got Donald Trump kicked off of Twitter. Steven is a regular commentator on media, technology, and racial justice, appearing in publications like the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian. Steven was a 2013 Rainbow PUSH Coalition Top Inspirational and Engaged Leader by and a 2020 Rockwood Leadership Institute fellow. He was a 2020 advisor for Just Futures Law’s Take Back Tech Fellowship, and serves on the board of Americans for Financial Reform and Upturn.
Steven’s interest in media justice began in 2010 when he co-founded Radio Pocho, a radio program that still airs on KFAI in Minneapolis, which features a variety of genres that reflect the diverse musical influences of Latinx people. As DJ Ren, Steven’s also been a DJ for the past 18 years, getting people dancing on virtual and IRL dance floors. His most recent mixtape is a tribute to one of his favorite artists: Bad Bunny.
Steven is the creator and producer of Bring Receipts, a politics and pop culture podcast that launched in 2021, which he hosts alongside Brandi Collins-Dexter. He’s also the executive producer for Revolutionary Spirits, a 4-part history podcast on the life and martyrdom of Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco Madero.
A native of Los Angeles, Steven grew up in an immigrant household at the height of anti-immigrant fervor in California. The propaganda campaign that fueled the passage of Proposition 187 in the mid-90s motivated Steven to seek out a career to challenge media bias and democratize communications for people of color.
