Maria joined Working Partnerships in 2013 and leads our Silicon Valley Rising campaign as well as our community organizing and civic engagement model. Previously, she worked with the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council on successful local issue campaigns to raise the minimum wage, pass a general tax for county safety net services, and more. She was district director for the previous California State Speaker Pro Tempore and joined that office after spending three years as a community organizer through Sacred Heart Community Service’s policy and organizing department where she led successful campaigns to protect senior services, defend immigrant rights and increase resources for the most underserved areas of San Jose. She also spent three years teaching English and Social Studies in Bogota, Colombia after having spent several years working for then City of San Jose Vice Mayor, Cindy Chavez. Maria Noel is also a board member of Californians for Justice and the National Partnership for Working Families.