GWC Board Members

Victor Narro

A nationally known expert on immigrant rights and low-wage workers, Victor Narro has been involved with immigrant rights and labor issues for over 40 years. He is currently a Project Director for the UCLA Labor Center and Core Faculty for the UCLA Department of Labor Studies, where he teaches classes that focus on immigrant rights, low-wage workers, and the labor movement. Victor is also Core Faculty for the Public Interest Law Program at UCLA School for Law. Victor was formerly the Co-Executive Director of Sweatshop Watch. Prior to that, he was the Workers’ Rights Project Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). Before his tenure at CHIRLA, Victor worked in the Los Angeles Regional Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

Victor’s work with garment workers began in the mid-1990’s during his years at CHIRLA. He joined other worker advocates to create the Los Angeles Garment Worker Coalition. As a Board member of Sweatshop Watch (where he later served as co-Executive Director), Victor was involved with policy campaigns to pass laws that focused on improve working conditions for garment workers. From 1999-2001, Victor worked with a core group of worker advocates to create and launch the Garment Worker Center. From 2019-2021, Victor was part of the core group of advocates from Garment Worker Center, Bet Tzedek, and Western Center on Law & Poverty that worked on the legislative campaign to pass the Garment Worker Protection Act (SB 62).

Christopher Sanchez

Christopher Sanchez, a Chicano from the Town he Lives In Fullerton CA, is the Founder and President of the Mesa Verde Group and has over a decades worth of political and policy experience. Christopher’s introduction into formal politics was in 2008 when he organized with members of his community to preserve the historic Lemon Street Chicano murals that were painted in the 1970s in Fullerton’s historic redlined neighborhood, the Maple Community. He then went on to work on several political campaigns electing Latinos during at-large elections in North Orange County. In 2013 Christopher arrived in Sacramento to work in the state legislature for four years as a Legislative Assistant and then in 2017 he began his career where he worked as a policy advocate for Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) followed by the Western Center on Law and Poverty. 

During his time as an advocate, Christopher has led grassroots legislative campaigns that centered community voices and their participation including the passage of landmark legislation such as the Garment Worker Protection Act (SB 62 – Durazo), Fair Access to Credit Act (AB 539 – Limon), and the Enhancing Safety of Sidewalk Food Vending (SB 972 – Gonzalez), legislation that led to the full legalization and decriminalization of street food vendors. In 2022  he was named Advocate Champion by the California Latino Capitol Staff Association Foundation and recognized as a leading Latino advocate to end hunger and poverty by the national organization the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC).

Aditi Mayer

Aditi Mayer is an interdisciplinary thought leader working at the nexus of social and environmental justice. As a journalist, photographer, and public speaker, her work examines inequities within global supply chains—particularly in the fashion industry—while amplifying narratives of resilience, heritage, and cultural preservation. She is the founder of The Artisan Archive, a storytelling and social impact agency weaving narratives of craft, climate, and culture. 

Mayer’s advocacy began following the 2013 Rana Plaza Factory Collapse in Bangladesh, starting in Los Angeles’ garment industry. In 2020, she was awarded the National Geographic Fulbright Digital Storytelling Fellowship, during which she researched India’s farming and artisan textile industries, investigating their socio-economic and environmental dimensions. She has collaborated with institutions such as the United Nations, Fashion Revolution, and various academic and cultural organizations to advance critical conversations on equitable sustainability. 

In addition to her professional endeavors, Mayer serves on the boards of the Garment Worker Center and Governance for Tomorrow, further cementing her commitment to systemic change. From features in Vogue to National Geographic, Aditi is known for marrying the worlds of art, industry, and education— all with a socially conscious slant.

Maria Rivera

Maria Rivera is the International Vice President of Workers United/SEIU and Regional Manager for WSRJB Workers United- SEIU. Maria’s journey began in 1992 when she volunteered at a garment worker center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, teaching literacy classes to immigrant workers. Drawing from her experience as a young activist in Nicaragua’s Sandinistas’ historic literacy campaign, she soon became a union organizer with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

Maria led strikes and organized garment workers throughout New York City, including the sweater factory where her mother was a seamstress. Continuing her fight for immigrant workers, she organized garment sweatshops with UNITE! in California, Chicago, Boston, and numerous other cities. In 2002, Maria relocated her family to California’s Central Valley, transforming a struggling local into a formidable force of thousands of low-wage immigrant workers in industrial laundries. Later, she extended her efforts to organize workers in airports and hospitals with SEIU. 

Following the merger of UNITE! with SEIU to form Workers United, Maria was elected by its members to serve as the union’s California District Manager. Today, as the Regional Manager for the union’s Western States region, Maria leads 10,000 organized workers across laundries, distribution centers, and various other workplaces in California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. She resides in Fresno with her husband, Alfonso, and their children, Camila and Raul.