Nelda Liliana Ruiz

Nelda Liliana Ruiz Calles is a fronteriza community organizer and cultural worker from the Sonoran borderlands. As a Barrio Campesinx (farmer), she supports young people in reconnecting to the Earth through traditional ways of knowing and respect. Nelda has been organizing with Regeneración – Armando Barrio (formerly Tierra Y Libertad ) for over 11 years, connecting communities with the resources they may need to create safe, healthy, and regenerative communities in the South Side of Tucson, Arizona. Nelda also works as a program coordinator and educator at the Southwest Folklife Alliance where she manages community-driven documentation projects that highlight the diverse cultures and traditional knowledge in the cultural communities of the Southwest. She comes to the Participatory Action Research (PAR) Network as a Folklorist and mentor to PAR fellows through the Radical Imagination for Racial Justice initiative.