Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Cedillo-Pereira is the Chief of Equity and Inclusion for the City of Dallas. Liz has executive leadership oversight of the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability, Office of Equity, Office of Ethics and Compliance, Office of Fair Housing and Human Rights, Office of Resilience, and the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs. Liz Cedillo-Pereira previously served as the Director of the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs (WCIA) established in March 2017. In that position, Liz has overseen the community-driven process to develop a comprehensive Strategic Welcoming Plan for the City of Dallas that was unanimously adopted by Dallas City Council in 2018.
A native Dallasite, Liz has more than 15 years of experience at the federal, state and local level in human rights, immigration, and anti-trafficking related matters. Prior to joining the City of Dalla, Liz served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she focused on immigration policy overseeing the agency implementation numerous policy priorities. In addition, Liz led the agency’s revamped community engagement initiatives through the establishment of the Office of Community Engagement to foster relations in communities across the U.S.
Liz is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; received her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania; earned her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Liz is married to Oscar Pereira, an aeronautical engineer, and they are blessed with Amanda, Gabriela and Oscar Samuel.
Recent Comments