Maritza Perez is the director of the Office of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D.C., where she leads the organization’s federal legislative agenda and strategy to end the drug war. In this role, she lobbies Congress and the Administration on issues pertaining to drug policy and criminal legal reform. She led the national coalition which has successfully pushed for the passage of the MORE Act in the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2020 and April 2022, marking the only times in history a Congressional chamber voted to deschedule marijuana.
An expert in her field, Maritza has been featured in various media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Latino USA, and more.
Maritza is passionate about public service and supporting her community. She is the current president of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia (HBA-DC). Originally from Elko, Nevada, Maritza is a member of a large Mexican-American family and was the first in her family to attend college. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada’s Reynolds School of Journalism and holds a J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law. Maritza is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and in the State of California.
