Norma Flores López grew up as a child of a migrant farmworker family from South Texas. She began working in the fields at the age of 12, where she continued working until she graduated from high school. She has long been an active advocate for migrant farmworker children’s rights and continues to raise awareness on issues affecting the farmworker community. Norma has had the opportunity to testify before Congress and has appeared on national news outlets, including 60 Minutes, on issues related to child labor in agriculture. She has also been invited by international governments to consult on strategies to reduce child labor abroad. In June 2021, Norma was awarded the Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Prior to joining the Central Texas Food Bank, she was the Chief Programs Officer at Justice for Migrant Women and helped co-found The Foundation for Farmworkers. While serving as the Governance and Development/Collaboration Manager at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, Norma was on the Board of Directors for the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association and was elected President in 2019. Other prior work also includes serving as director of the Children in the Fields Campaign at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs. Norma is a graduate of the University of Texas Pan-American and the George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.