About Me

Lorena Rivas is the founder of the Rivas Family Foundation, a nonprofit created from a deeply personal commitment to dignity, opportunity, and belonging for Latino families and individuals with special needs.

As a Latina, immigrant advocate, and community leader, Lorena has spent her career standing alongside people who are too often overlooked by systems that were not built with them in mind. But long before she became an attorney or nonprofit founder, Lorena learned the meaning of advocacy at home. Her brother, Adrian Rivas, lives with special needs, and growing up as his sister shaped her understanding of love, patience, resilience, and the urgent need for inclusive communities that see ability before limitation.

That experience, combined with her work serving immigrant families across Oklahoma and beyond, inspired Lorena to create the Rivas Family Foundation. The Foundation exists to invest in programs and initiatives that empower Latinos, support individuals with disabilities, and strengthen families—regardless of immigration status, income level, or background.

Lorena believes that real change happens when communities are resourced, respected, and led by people who understand their realities. Through the Foundation, she is committed to funding and supporting efforts that promote education, leadership development, accessibility, and pathways to thriving lives for those who have historically been pushed to the margins.

At its core, the Rivas Family Foundation reflects Lorena’s belief that every person deserves the chance to live with purpose, support, and hope—and that families like hers, and like so many others, should never have to navigate their journeys alone.

Thanks!