Teresita del Niño Jesús "Terri" Cruz (1927–2017) was a community advocate and a founder of Chicanos Por La Causa.
[1] She was orphaned as a young child and raised by her aunt and uncle in Salt River Valley.
[1] After twenty-two years, she decided to earn her GED and pursue a career in social services for the poor.
While in that position, she was approached by Chicano activists, including Joe Eddie Lopez, asking to use the spirit duplicator.
[3] In 1970, she as instrumental in organizing a boycott against Union High District in which 2,000 Mexican American students refused to attend, leading to reforms including hiring more Latino teachers and counselors.