ABOUT
OUR COLLECTIVE BEGININGS
Tierra Viva Collective is guided by a collaborative team committed to land sovereignty, food system co-creation, climate justice, and grassroots empowerment. As a newly formed organization, we are building strong foundations through a community-rooted governance model centered on shared leadership, collective care, and accountability. Our work is carried forward by staff, volunteers, and a steering committee under the fiscal sponsorship of the Movement Sustainability Commons of Resist, Inc.
Dr. Gaby Pereyra, Leslie Rodriguez, and Rosa Rodriguez lead daily operations, coordinate programs, and cultivate partnerships with farmers and community organizations. Together, they bring decades of experience in grassroots organizing, nonprofit program development, evaluation, and community engagement advancing land and food sovereignty across generations.
Our work grows through a network of partners, volunteers, and community leaders whose contributions—from land-based projects to outreach—strengthen our collective capacity to cultivate just, resilient, and living food systems.
VIVIENDO COMO LA TIERRA — Living the life of the land
OUR TEAM
Rosa Rodriguez
(She/Ella)
Dr. Gaby (Gabriela) Pereyra
(She/Ella)
Rosa is a seasoned Latinx, bilingual systems-change leader with over 26 years of experience serving farmworkers, immigrants, and under-resourced communities.
As Co-Director of Tierra Viva Collective, she advances food, land, and climate justice by centering BIPOC land stewards and frontline communities through shared leadership, equity, and collective care. Rosa co-designs wellness and mental health programs, strengthens service networks, and bridges grassroots movements with institutional partners.
Grounded in active listening and community-rooted planning, she cultivates collaborative, regenerative solutions that honor dignity and ensure those most impacted lead decision-making and shape long-term resilience in food and land systems.
Dr. Gabriela Pereyra is an agricultural scientist, movement builder, and land access strategist working to transform agri-food systems toward equity and climate resilience. For more than 25 years, she has collaborated with farmers across the Americas, Africa, and Europe, bridging agroecological science with farmer-led innovation.
In the Northeastern United States, she has helped launch more than 34 beginning-farmer businesses, facilitated the transfer of 210 acres of farmland, and secured 18 long-term leases expanding land access. She also supports regional food infrastructure linking over 100 farms and moving 1.4 million pounds of food annually. Through initiatives such as BQE, Braiding Seeds, and La Beca, she mobilizes resources, markets, and collective power for first-generation small farmers.
Leslie Rodriguez Esq
(She/Ella)
Leslie is a Latinx advocate and attorney with over a decade of experience working alongside under-resourced communities. Her work focuses on addressing the root causes of inequity, advancing systemic transformation, and creating space for healing and sustainability.
She works at the intersection of climate justice and healing justice, with a particular focus on the mental health and wellbeing of BIPOC, Latinx, young, and queer farmers and farmworkers.
Leslie is committed to strengthening organizational health through conflict-aware, trauma-informed, and care-centered leadership. Drawing on her legal and organizing background, she supports movements and organizations in building resilient, collaborative cultures rooted in equity, sustainability, and collective care.
OUR APPROACH:
COLLABORATIVE + DECENTRALIZED
We foster a network of individuals + groups working towards food system + climate justice.
COMMUNITY DRIVEN SOLUTIONS
Our work emerges from the needs, experiences, + leadership of land connected communities.
SYSTEMS CHANGE + HEALING
We are committed to addressing root causes, advocating for systemic transformation, + creating space for healing + sustainability.
Our Valued Partners