Biography
Mari Pérez-Ruiz is a grassroots economic and community development organizer rooted in California’s Central Valley. Born in Yahualica, Jalisco, Mexico, and raised in Visalia, Mari is the daughter of immigrant farmworkers and brings a lifelong commitment to organizing alongside working-class communities. After earning her degree at UC Davis, she returned to the Central Valley to co-found the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance (CVEA), where she now serves as executive director and board chair. CVEA works across five counties—Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern—to build community power from the ground up. Mari has co-founded several statewide advocacy formations, including the Alameda Justice Alliance, California Democratic Renters Council, and the Rural Justice Alliance, where she serves as chair. A former president of the Alameda Renters Coalition, Mari helped lead successful campaigns for rent control, just cause eviction, and tenant legal counsel in Alameda (2018), and contributed to major statewide wins like the Tenant Protection Act (2020) and California Green New Deal (2021). Mari’s organizing blends policy strategy with deep movement grounding, reflecting an inside/outside approach to structural change. She’s honored to join this panel to uplift housing and land justice in rural and working-class communities.
