Based in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, MaríaElena Alvarado-Rodríguez is the VP of Research & Culture at DAISA Enterprises, where she leads national field-building research, equitable evaluation, and internal culture development. With over 17 years of experience using food as a tool for community transformation, she supports organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico through strategy, convening, and capacity building. Previously, she has led initiatives in food justice community organizing, food access expansion, farmers’ market development, food entrepreneurship, and has supported small-scale sustainable farmers in Washington State, California, Florida, Italy, and Puerto Rico. MaríaElena is committed to building food systems that honor ancestral cultural knowledge, uplift BIPOC communities, nourish the environment, and deepen Queer community. She is an alumna of Soul Fire Farm BIPOC Immersion, Proyecto Agroecológico El Josco Bravo, and Rockwood Leadership Institute, and collaborates locally with El Departamento de la Comida and Alacena Feminista del Este.