Rosa Lopez is a senior policy advocate and organizer at the ACLU of Southern California in our Bakersfield office.
Lopez has been an active organizer and policy advocate almost her whole life, devoting herself to uplift the lives of marginalized community members. Before joining the ACLU SoCal, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic and worked as Career Pathway Specialist with the statewide John Muir Charter Schools, developing and managing career programs to re-engage young adults in education and on a pathways to lifelong and sustainable careers.
Lopez has strong roots in Bakersfield. She grew up in the small Kern County town of Weedpatch. After earning her B.A. in Latin American Latino Students and Politics from UC Santa Cruz in 2005, Lopez returned to Bakersfield and worked at Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, advocating for the rights of farm workers, victims of crime and indigenous community members, issues close to her heart because she is a first generation indigenous immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico. She also volunteered on various campaigns with the Dolores Huerta Foundation and the United Farms Workers Union. Lopez is currently a candidate for a master's in Public Administration from Cal State University, Bakersfield.