Luz Johanna Pérez is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants who met in Los Angeles, California, where she is originally from. As a child, Pérez witnessed the struggle of her parents who came to the United States without documents or English knowledge, and an elementary-level education. Like many children of Latino immigrants, Pérez served as a translator for her parents, and felt shame when people would deride them for their English abilities. Despite the challenges her parents faced, they demonstrated the meaning of hard work and the value of an education. She attended community college and transferred to a four-year university where she received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish. She went back to school 10 years later and received a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she was later admitted into their doctoral program. After completing her doctoral coursework, Pérez left academia and is now working toward a Social Impact MBA at Boston University. 

Pérez was a teacher for over 10 years. She taught English as a Second and Foreign Language at various levels and in different countries, including Spain and South Korea. Most recently, she was teaching and tutoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston while she was pursuing a PhD. In 2019, Pérez came to work for the City of Boston as a research fellow in the Economic Mobility Lab under the Mayor’s Office of Policy. Here she worked on various economic policy issues and found her calling in government. In 2021, Pérez works as a research analyst in the Supplier Diversity under the Mayor’s Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, where she works with City of Boston departments to improve their Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) utilization. At the end of 2022, Pérez was tapped by City Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia to be her Chief of Staff. In this role, Pérez works on policy initiatives in addition to supporting Councilor Mejia push the work of her office forward.  

In early 2022, Luz Johanna Pérez became the Latinx Employee Resource Group liaison for the City of Boston. She feels it is important for Latinos in the City of Boston to be connected with each other and work together across departments so that members can provide the best services to the Latino community. “Our power is in our unity” expressed Pérez at the 2022 Latinx Heritage Month Kickoff Party at City Hall Plaza, which she led in organizing. Pérez hopes to continue to work with her Latinx familia at the City of Boston and bring more events and resources to the community.