Paz grew up in San Juan Mixtepec, Juxtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico.
For a few years, Paz also worked as a migrant farmworker, during which time she reports being sexually abused on several occasions.
Later she told her brothers she wished to attend school, and they agreed to financially support her so she could quit.
[2] One of the judges, Dean Claudio Grossman of the Washington College of Law, stated: A farmworker herself, Ms. Paz is one of the most credible voices on the dire conditions that affect them.
She demonstrates that through organization and commitment, rights are obtainable, improving both the conditions of farmworkers and society at large.