Maria Noel Fernandez

she/her

Board Member

San Jose, CA

Executive Director, Working Partnerships USA

Maria Noel builds coalitions and community power to win groundbreaking change for working families.

She is also the campaign director for Silicon Valley Rising, a coordinated regional effort that’s inspiring an inclusive tech-driven economy. So far, the SVR campaign has helped over 8,500 service workers in the tech industry organize for better wages and a voice at work.

As Working Partnerships USA’s organizing director from 2014 to 2017, Maria Noel was instrumental in developing organizing and campaign strategies that won a $15/hr minimum wage in eight Silicon Valley cities, the first-in-the-nation Opportunity to Work ballot initiative, and other policies that are improving the lives of working people and their families.

Previously, she worked with the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, Assemblymember Nora Campos, and Sacred Heart Community Service. 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 lives in south San Jose with her husband, son Tadeo and her dog Rocco.