Mónica Ramírez

Biography

Mónica Ramírez has dedicated her career to serving the migrant farmworker community in honor of her family’s background working in the agricultural fields in different parts of the U.S. and due to the persistent need that confronts the community. She has specifically focused her work on ending gender-based violence in the workplace and achieving gender equity. Mónica has served farmworker, Latina and immigrant women as an organizer and advocate for more than two decades. She has also represented individuals as a civil rights and gender justice attorney since 2004.

Mónica employs a holistic, victim-centered approach to her work and she is an ardent supporter of worker-led movements. She also has a long history promoting women’s leadership and political power, including leading National Hispanic Leadership Agenda's LatinasRepresent project, the only national non-partisan initiative in the U.S. focused on increasing Latina representation and participation in public leadership positions.

Mónica is the founder of several major initiatives, organizations and projects, including Esperanza: The Immigrant Women’s Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Bandana Project, and she co-founded Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (The National Farmworker Women’s Alliance).

Mónica holds a Juris Doctorate from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago. She lives with her husband and son in Montgomery County, Maryland where she was appointed to serve as a Commissioner for the Montgomery County Commission for Women.