Maria Perez is the co-director of Democracy Rising. Born and raised in Ecuador, Maria immigrated to the United States in the 1990s to pursue her education. She has crafted a career guided by her passion to address social disparities. A seasoned non-profit leader, organizer, facilitator, advocate, educator, and coalition builder, Maria is a firm believer in the power of people coming together to address complex social problems, and that democracy is the ultimate health equity indicator. She spent over ten years as a healthcare practitioner, before turning to policy, equity, and advocacy work, which she has been doing for the past ten years.
She served as Campaign Lead and later as Interim Hub Manager for the California Endowment’s project Building Healthy Communities (East Oakland), Director of FairVote New Mexico, and more recently as Campaign Manager for Common Cause New Mexico. Maria is a national expert on the issue of Ranked Choice Voting. She and co-director Grace Ramsey launched the national organization Democracy Rising in 2020.