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Mónica Ramírez hails from a farmworker family that settled out of the migrant stream to live year-round in rural Ohio.  She is a long-time advocate, organizer, social entrepreneur and attorney fighting to eliminate gender-based violence and secure gender equity. For over two decades, she has fought for the civil and human rights of women, children, workers, Latinos/as and immigrants. 

In 2003, Mónica created the first legal project in the United States dedicated to addressing gender discrimination against farmworker women, which she scaled to create Esperanza: The Immigrant Women’s Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

In addition to founding Justice for Migrant Women, she co-founded Alianza Nacional de Campesinos and served President of their Board until 2018. In her capacity as Alianza's Board President, Mónica wrote the letter that was published in TIME magazine from farmworker women to women in the entertainment industry. It has been credited with helping to spark the creation of the TIME’S UP movement.  

Mónica is recognized as a thought leader and prominent voice in the Latinx community. She has been awarded numerous awards for her work, including Harvard Kennedy School’s inaugural Gender Equity Changemaker Award, 2022 James Beard Leadership award, the Feminist Majority’s Global Women’s Rights Award, and inclusion on Forbes Mexico's 2018 list of 100 Powerful Women, among other distinctions. 

Mónica is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and Harvard Kennedy School. 

Follow her @MonicaRamirezOH on Twitter and @activistmonicaramirez on Instagram.

Kelley Bruner is the daughter and granddaughter of small peanut farmers in rural northwest Florida where she became intimately aware of the reality of the rural poor and the harmful impact of the discriminatory policies and practices that impact the people of color and the marginalized in the deep South still today.

It was this personal awareness with some of these injustices that led Kelley to become a civil rights attorney. She was determined to fight for justice and to push for the expansion of rights for those who have been left out or disenfranchised over the years.
Kelley is a seasoned civil rights litigator. She has handled employment cases on behalf of migrant workers, personal injury cases against hate groups who targeted immigrants, as well as cases involving violations by law enforcement and other authorities aimed at depriving individuals of their rights.

Kelley spent the majority of her legal career litigating cases with famed civil rights lawyer, Morris Dees. In addition to this, Kelley is exceptionally skilled with creating common sense systems that help ensure that technology can best meet the needs of lawyers and their clients.

In addition to her legal work, Kelley has managed the large budget of a local PTA, as well as compliance and governance matters related to a non-profit charity. Most recently, Kelley has supported Justice for Migrant Women's policy and campaign work and administrative initiatives. 

Kelley is a graduate of Florida State University and New York University School of Law.

Norma Flores López grew up as a child of a migrant farmworker family from South Texas. She began working in the fields at the age of 12, where she continued working until she graduated from high school.  She has long been an active advocate for migrant farmworker children’s rights and continues to raise awareness on issues affecting the farmworker community. She was recently awarded the 2021 IQBAL MASIH.

Norma has had the opportunity to testify before Congress and has appeared on national news outlets, including 60 Minutes, on issues related to child labor in agriculture. She has also been invited by international governments to consult on strategies to reduce child labor abroad.

Norma serves Board of Directors for the National Consumers League and is the chair of the Child Labor Coalition’s Domestic Issues Committee. In 2017, she was selected to serve as the representative for the United States on the Board of Directors for Global March Against Child Labour. Additionally, she was selected to participate in the Pahara Next Generation Fellowship.

Prior to joining Justice for Migrant Women, Norma was the Governance and Development/Collaboration Manager at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project and a co-founder of The Foundation for Farmworkers. Norma previously served on the Board of Directors for the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association and was elected President in 2019. Prior work also includes serving as director of the Children in the Fields Campaign at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs.

Norma is a graduate of the University of Texas Pan-American and the George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

Catherine is from North Carolina and first discovered her passion for policy and public service during a Washington, D.C. experience in high school. Moving to D.C. in 2016, she joined the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda where she led digital engagement and supported advocacy on issues including immigration, labor and women's rights. 

Most recently, Catherine managed state government affairs at the American Planning Association, working with community planners to elevate their community's priorities in state capitols across the country. 

Knowing her neighbors and building relationships is important to Catherine, so she prioritizes that in all aspects of life. 

Catherine holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and in Spanish from Furman University.

Mary Alice Espiritu was born into a family of migrant farmworkers. Over the years, her family began to settle in Ohio as they found work opportunities outside of field work, and eventually, they left the migrant stream altogether.  

In 2008, Mary Alice was hired as a bus aide for the local migrant and seasonal Head Start program. Through hard work and determination, Mary Alice worked her way up through various positions in the program until becoming the supervisor of the Head Start center. Mary Alice’s personal background made her keenly aware of the difficulties migrant farmworker families face and proudly helped meet their needs while ensuring their children received the highest quality early childhood education. 

Her career in education inspired her to work to create a community in which all children can thrive through public service. Mary Alice was elected to be a member of the Board of Education for Fremont City (OH) Schools. She is also a co-founder and board member of the educational organization, La Voz de la Comunidad, and volunteers regularly in support of her church.

Mary Alice is a first-generation college graduate. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Human Service Management from the University of Phoenix. 

Maeve Elder was born and raised in Fremont, Ohio, a small historic town that thrives upon the success of its agricultural industry, and is the home of Justice for Migrant Women’s headquarters. 

Throughout her adolescence, young adult and present adult-life, Maeve continued to enrich her education on the advocacy for fair treatment of minorities with an emphasis on women’s rights. This life of political involvement instilled Maeve with a priority for policy and challenging its impact on marginalized groups.

This passion followed Maeve as she pursued higher education and inspired her to study the impact of policy, both domestic and foreign, on women’s rights in Middle Eastern countries. Maeve focused her extracurricular time on the unequal stratification of human rights within the city of Akron, Ohio. She found political opportunities within various local, statewide, and national partisan campaigns and organizations, and helped spearhead the creation of a local grassroots campaign. Maeve also used her voice to create panel discussions around topics such as women’s rights and immigrant rights. 

Maeve concluded her student-career at the University of Akron graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She still remains deeply connected to her hometown and hopes to see a progression in the agricultural industry toward the fair treatment of migrant workers throughout the midwest.

Laura was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is passionate about history, education, and community organizing. From a young age, Laura volunteered for diverse non-profit organizations, including Just World International, Fundación Stefano Steenbakers Betancourt, and The Golden Shoes Project. More recently, she fundraised to assist fellow Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane María. 

She became passionate about supporting migrant women while working as a tenant advocate in Cincinnati, Ohio. Laura leveraged her cultural background and Spanish language skills to help Hispanic immigrants secure affordable and safe housing.  She is also experienced in developing youth educational programs and field events for history museums. 

Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Cornell University.

Elizabeth was born in Ohio and spent most of her youth living in Mexico. 

When Elizabeth moved back to Ohio at the age of 15 for high school, she did not know what discrimination was or had even heard that word.  One day, she saw students bullying a girl and proceeded to stand by her side and help her. From that day forward, Elizabeth knew she wanted -- and needed -- to make a difference bit by bit and to help the migrant workers in her community. 

Elizabeth has spent her professional career in service to those in need.  She spent fourteen years as a family service advocate for an area migrant and seasonal head start program. She also served as a bilingual WIC clerk at a neighborhood health association, a bilingual house manager at a homeless shelter and a teacher’s aid for ESOL students in the local school system.  

Elizabeth loves working to protect and advance the rights of migrant women. Though she claims she may not be able to change the whole world, Elizabeth is always striving to make a difference and make someone smile.

Rocío is from México City and has been hearing about politics and social justice since early, when her parents would discuss national politics around her. 

She began her career as a public servant in 1998, when she started working at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2006, she joined the Foreign Service, and became a Career Diplomat. That year, she was transferred to the Mexican Consulate in Detroit, Michigan, where she got her first involvement working with the Mexican population in the US. This experience helped her shape her understanding not only of the reality of Mexican and Hispanic immigrant communities in Michigan, but also of the challenges they face every day.

After Detroit, she was posted in the Mexican embassies in Bangkok, Thailand and Georgetown, Guyana. After 20+ years in the public service, she decided to pursue a career change. This decision was born out of her desire to channel her passion and dedication into an active role on social justice initiatives, with a strong focus on human security, gender equity, and social justice for immigrants and underserved communities.

In 2019, she briefly lived and worked in a migrant shelter in Tijuana, México, where she worked with Central American children. In 2020 and 2021, she volunteered with the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Division’s COVID-19 Food Delivery program.

She holds a B. A. in International Relations from the School of Social and Political Sciences, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); and a Masters Degree in Gender Analysis and Immigration, from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, at Tufts University.

She lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, and is an avid reader, and passionate runner.

Graciela was born and raised in Mexico. While studying sociology and translation studies, she had the opportunity to immigrate to the United States. Her language skills and her deep understanding of both cultures proved to be in high demand.

She has spent her professional career working with senior executives to support the smooth functioning of different kinds of entities ranging from international corporations to state offices, foundations and non-profits. 

Building relationships is key to how Graciela approaches her professional and personal life.

Her personal background gives her a keen insight into complex immigration issues affecting communities in this country. She is passionate about immigrant issues and how these relate
to the safety, education, and access to healthcare and adequate housing for women and children.

She has volunteered with non-profit organizations involved in the arts, literacy and children’s education. She has planned and developed youth programs; and for many years organized field trips to museums, theaters and musical events for children and their families in her community.

Graciela speaks three languages and she has always had an interest in learning about different cultures and their people. She truly enjoys learning a new language as she sees this as a way to deeply connect with people.