Lorena has lived in Tampa, FL for over 30 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management. In the last 20 plus years she has worked in both the nonprofit and government sectors. Prior to her work in food policy with Feeding Tampa Bay, Lorena worked in the federal healthcare policy space for BayCare and transit policy for the local transit agency. She spent 15 years at the City of Tampa where she served under three mayors in various roles; neighborhood relations, Hispanic & community outreach, and on the legislative side for Tampa City Council. In addition, Lorena has a passion for volunteer work as she started her career managing a volunteer program for United Way that allowed her to interface with agencies and clients on a daily basis.

Lorena finds her work in government and the nonprofit world fulfilling and enjoys meeting and working with other civically-engaged individuals. She hopes that through her civic and professional work, she can help shape the future landscape of her region and beyond. She has a 12 year old daughter and hopes that her daughter can grow up in a country and world that is tolerant and embraces all of our differences.