Liz Cortez is the Director of Promise City Programs and Partnerships within the Equitable Recovery Institute at the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA). Previously, she was the Associate Director of the Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) Initiative in San Francisco.

Liz is a practitioner of collective impact and results-based accountability. She is experienced in programmatic leadership and evaluation, cross-sector collaboration, and fostering community leadership. Liz is passionate about gender equity and racial justice. She works with parents, youth, and partner organizations to align efforts and eliminate systemic failures to ensure children and families can achieve their full potential.

Liz grew up in an immigrant family in South Los Angeles, CA, and was the first person in her family to attend and graduate from college. Liz holds an MA in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.