Here's Lidia Rivas describing her early years in her native El Salvador:

“From an early age I remember helicopters and planes in the air, neighbors murdered,” she says. “My parents were fearful of meeting anyone on the road, and formed small patrols to keep the peace and order.”

Like many Salvadorans escaping the political strife in El Salvador, Rivas' family, one by one, wound up in the U.S. And Rivas -- the last of her eight siblings to arrive -- eventually settled in Langley Park, a community in Prince George's County that is 82% Latino.

Her first job in the area was at wine packing plant, but Rivas also joined parent groups and got to know her Langley Park neighbors.

So began her activism.

Today, Rivas is a tenant organizer for CASA, the regional immigrants' rights group that is headquartered in Langley Park. In a community that has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, where so many families are worried about paying the rent, that's a critical role.

But Rivas is so much more. As a resident of the community, she's a one-person welcoming committee, a confidant to her neighbors, helping newcomers navigate the system to get their families settled, urging them to fight for their rights.

“Lidia has always gone out of her way to work with people in the community,” a colleague says. “The way that pays off in organizing is when she asks them to step up and show courage, or speak out for what’s right, they see her as someone who [would] back them up.”