Maria Perez grew up in 1980’s Latin America, where concepts of social justice seeped through narratives of Liberation Theology. She immigrated to the US as a young adult to pursue her education. Maria has crafted a career guided by her passion to address social disparities. A seasoned non-profit leader, organizer, facilitator, advocate, organizer, and coalition builder, Maria is a firm believer in the power of people coming together to address complex social problems.

She spent over ten years as a health care practitioner, before turning to policy, equity, and advocacy work. She turned her full attention to building and protecting the American democracy experiment after the 2016 US presidential election. Working on electoral reform, she served as Director of FairVote NM and Campaign Manager for Common Cause NM before co-founding the national organization Democracy Rising in 2020, where she serves as co-Executive Director. In her role, she is weaving together a national network of civic leaders working to dream, plan, and implement a democracy that works for all of us.