LUZ VAZQUEZ-RAMOS

A connector. An innovator. A problem solver. An action-oriented community builder.  

Luz Vazquez-Ramos is the CEO and President of the California-Mexico Studies Center. Luz is a child of immigrants who has learned at a young age that migration is a human right that must be defended, as she spent most of her afternoons after school playing among the children of Central American refugees that were searching for asylum at her father’s legal aid center in the 1980s, the Centro de La Raza.

Luz is a graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) with degrees in International Education Management & Public Administration. During her practicum semester at MIIS, Luz partnered with the California-Mexico Studies Center (CMSC) to develop the first study abroad program exclusively for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients through the use of an Advance Parole Travel Permit. It is through this program that Luz has found a way to create access to study abroad experiences for over 800 students of color. Luz continues to recruit DACA students throughout the United States as well as advises them on an individual basis on proper use of the Advance Parole Travel Permit and after travel adjustment of status. 

It is through the DACA study abroad program that DACA participants are able to have a heritage-seeking experience by reconnecting with their families, culture, and safely return to the United States. Upon returning to the United States, they are also eligible to adjust their legal status, securing lawful residency and securing their educational and professional futures. The cornerstone of the DACA study abroad program is access to educational goals, family reunification and a legal pathway to lawful residency.

Before arriving at the CMSC, Luz worked as a research and organizational development consultant for the American Institutes of Research, the Institute of International Education in Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico City, as well being a US Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador, and has collaborated with education institutions and municipalities in California, Mexico, El Salvador, and Peru.

Luz also holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach in Chicano Latino Studies. She is also the co-founder and on-going consultant for the micro-enterprise, ManaOjushte San Isidro in El Salvador. She is also the former & founding board president of CASA0101 Theater in Los Angeles, California. Luz is a native of Long Beach, California and splits her time between Long Beach and Mexico.

Email: luz@calmexcenter.org