In this 1-hour and 15-minute session,  we will discuss the different ways you can advocate to inform public policy. Also, we collectively identify who has the power to move or stop your goal, including key legislative allies and key organizational partners, all main components in formulating a legislative strategy.

Zoom link | Meeting ID: 575 621 9684

Elsa López is originally from a farming community in Chihuahua, México. Her zeal and vision to racial and economic justice is rooted in her own experience as an immigrant student. Shortly after migrating to the USA in 1996, she organized other students to pass a law granting access to college for undocumented immigrants in New Mexico.

After experiencing the power of organizing to overcome inequitable and oppressive systems, she became determined to activate and empower hundreds of working families, collectively creating and shaping the immigrant’s rights movement in NM for 20 years. During this time, she trained hundreds of people on the power of advocacy, leading dozens of local, state and federal legislative campaigns. She now works for a gender justice foundation where she is able to support community organizations by organizing and ushering financial resources. She is studying documentary photography, loves dancing, performing in theater, hiking and gardening. 

Marina Piña is a seasoned community organizer in New Mexico focused on social justice and health equity. From 2021 to 2022, she worked with the Rio Arriba County Human Services Department to lead a successful COVID-19 vaccination outreach campaign, and worked as a co-coordinator at the Rio Arriba Health Council, helping to shape community health strategies. 

Before that, she spent a decade organizing immigrant communities across the state. Piña helped build organizing networks in 12 rural New Mexico counties to pass dozens of state laws to support immigrant and worker rights. Piña has trained hundreds of immigrant leaders in advocacy and campaign development. 

Currently, as the Director of Communications for the New Mexico Health Care Authority, Piña has spearheaded public awareness campaigns that have played a pivotal role in engaging New Mexico's diverse communities.

Piña's work is deeply rooted in her personal experience and values. Born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, she has called New Mexico home since 2004. A former undocumented immigrant and DACA recipient, her journey fuels her passion for uplifting underrepresented communities through impactful, culturally resonant strategies.