Mrs. Rivera is President of the Oregon TRIO Association (OTA). OTA is a 501(c)3 organization that advocates on behalf of low income and first generation college students in the state of Oregon. OTA's mission is to increase the number of low income and underrepresented students in higher education.OTA is a member of the Northwest Association of Educational Opportunity Programs (NAEOP), which represents Region X TRIO programs in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. TRIO programs emerged from the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1964, and have since been established by the continual reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, first enacted into law in 1967. In addition to serving as President of OTA, Mrs. Rivera is the Director of TRIO Programs at Mt. Hood Community College, which oversees both the college (Student Support Services) and pre-college (Educational Talent Search) level TRIO programs. In her role, Mrs. Rivera diligently examines, diversity, inclusion, student development and systemic change necessary to increase the enrollment rate of underrepresented students in post-secondary education. Born and raised near Oakland, CA-- Mrs. Rivera is privy to the underpinning, and multidimensional systems that marginalize underrepresented communities. Mrs. Rivera holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Master's degree in Educational Leadership and a concentrated specialization in Policy and Government Relations from Portland State University.