Mily Treviño-Sauceda (born 1957 or 1958) is an American writer, trade unionist and leader of the National Alliance of Farmworker Women, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

advocating for the safety and rights of women laborers in agriculture. She is celebrated as a founder of the women's farmworker movement in the United States. She was recognized twice by ''People'' magazine in 2006, and in 2018, Treviño-Sauceda was co-awarded the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's American Ingenuity Award for Social Progress.

Early life and education

Treviño-Sauceda was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

to farmworkers who immigrated to the United States from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. After her family relocated to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, and then the Coachella Valley, Treviño-Sauceda started working in agricultural fields when she was 8 years old, and as a teenager experienced multiple sexual assaults. While working the fields with her brothers in

Blythe, California Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximatel ...

, Treviño-Sauceda and other farmworkers were doused with pesticides. Treviño-Sauceda attended

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Chicana/o studies with a minor in

Women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

in 1997. She later was awarded a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

from

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. Founded in 1852 as Antioch College, its first president was politician, abolitionist, and education reformer Horace Mann. It changed its ...

in 2014.

Career and activism

Treviño-Sauceda joined the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

as an agriculture field laborer in the 1970s. In the 1980s while working at

California Rural Legal Assistance California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal service and political advocacy organization created to help California's low-income individuals and communities. CRLA represents all types of individuals and communiti ...

she joined the California Community Workers Union. In the late 1980s, Treviño-Sauceda joined as a member recruitment and orientation coordinator for the nonprofit organization Women Farmworker Leaders in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, originally known as "Mexican Women", supported by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, to bring awareness and change on human rights issues disproportionately affecting Mexican women in migrant communities in the Coachella Valley. She eventually was promoted to Executive Director, which she served as for 12 years, and later, the

president emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. In 1991, when she became pregnant with her son while working during the summer on a field, Treviño-Sauceda said she was discharged as soon as she started to physically appear pregnant, three months into her pregnancy. She said it wasn't until many years later that she realized it was

pregnancy discrimination Pregnancy discrimination is a type of employment discrimination that occurs when expectant women are fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy or intention to become pregnant. Common forms of pregnancy discriminat ...

. In 2011, she co-founded National Alliance of Farmworker Women with Mónica Ramírez, which was the first national grassroots women's farmworker organization. In 2018, she joined the fourth cohort of Novo Foundation's Movement to End Violence. As of 2018, she served the

National Sexual Violence Resource Center The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) is an American nonprofit organization that addresses the causes and impact of sexual violence through collaboration, prevention, and resources. Working in collaboration with state and territory ...

as an advisor and the

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC), a federal advisory committee to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, was established September 30, 1993. The Council provides advice and recommendations about broad, cross- ...

member to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

. Treviño-Sauceda has been recognized with a number of awards, including "100 Heroines of the World" in 1998, "Sister of Fire" in 2003,

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's "Leadership for a Changing World" award in 2004, and two Cesar Chavez Legacy Award awards. She's been honored by Farmworker Justice,

LatinoJustice PRLDEF LatinoJustice PRLDEF, long known by its former name the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, is a New York-based national civil rights organization with the goal of changing discriminatory practices via advocacy and litigation. Privatel ...

, and ''People Magazine''. In 2019, she was awarded the Visionary Voice Award. In 2020, when the government deemed farm laborers "essential",

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

spread through migrant Mexican communities. Treviño-Sauceda lobbied the

Government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...

and the

California Department of Public Health The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency. It enforces some of the laws in the California Health ...

to provide assistance to the affected people.

Selected publications

* * *

Personal life

Treviño-Sauceda has one child and nine siblings. She lives in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, where she coached girls' soccer in the 1990s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treviño-Sauceda, Mily 21st-century American women writers Activists from California American lobbyists American trade unionists of Mexican descent American women's rights activists Antioch College alumni Farmworkers Trade unionists from Washington (state) Writers from Bellingham, Washington Writers from California 1950s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) California State University, Fullerton alumni