Francisca Cortes, a Zapotec indian from Oaxaca, Mexico is a farmworker and member of the CIW. When Francisca was 18 she immigrated to the US in order to help send her younger brothers and sisters to school. After experiencing first-hand the injustices and miserable wages in the Southwest Florida tomato fields, she joined with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to fight for better wages and treatment for her fellow workers (www.ciw-online.org). A nationally respected speaker and grassroots leader, in 2005 she was a finalist for the Cardinal Bernadin Award for young leaders. A practicing Catholic, Francisca resides in Immokalee, FL.