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), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

's American Ingenuity Award for Social Progress.

Early life and education

Treviño-Sauceda was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

to farmworkers who immigrated to the United States from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. After her family relocated to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and then the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

, 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 research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Chicana/o studies with a

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

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

in 1997. She later was awarded a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

from

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...

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 National Farm Workers Associatio ...

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) non-profit legal service organization created to help California's low-income individuals and communities. CRLA represents all types of individuals and communities, including farmworke ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some ca ...

. 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 discrimina ...

. In 2011, she co-founded National Alliance of Farmworker Women with Mónica Ramírez, which was the first national

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

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 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 agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

. 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 $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

'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. Privat ...

, 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

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 Constitution of California, California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It ...

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 eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, 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 20th-century American farmers 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 American women activists