Director of Farm Worker Advocacy
farmworkeradvocacy@nfwm.org
Elizabeth Rodriguez was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, a historically rich border region she continues to call home. She comes from a large Mexican-American family.
Elizabeth began her advocacy work in 2016, engaging in community-based efforts to address local needs. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2017, with additional academic grounding in cultural anthropology. In 2018, she began building relationships with farm worker communities to raise awareness about human trafficking in agriculture, including work in collaboration with the McCain Institute. She later joined La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), an organization founded by early leaders of the Farm Worker Movement. There, she worked as a community organizer supporting rural communities in strengthening their voice, advancing policy change, and addressing critical needs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth played an active role in a coalition of nonprofit organizations working to support farm workers and their families. Through these efforts, more than 2,000 individuals gained access to vaccines and personal protective equipment delivered directly to worksites. She also supported efforts to recover over $100,000 in unpaid wages for farm workers and contributed to the distribution of federal relief funds through a USDA-supported program.
Building on this work, Elizabeth pursued a Master of Science in Social Work, graduating in 2024 while also serving as a research assistant contributing to farm worker-focused data collection. She is deeply connected to the farm worker community through both her professional work and personal history—she is part of a multigenerational legacy of farm workers, with parents who met as migrants in the fields and grandparents who participated in the Bracero Program. She is also a proud mother of five.
Today, Elizabeth brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her role, working in partnership with farm worker communities to advance dignity, justice, and meaningful change.