Luz Rivas

Luz Rivas traces her interest in engineering to a fifth grade teacher who introduced her to computers in Pacoima. Her mother raised two daughters while working several jobs, and Rivas worked two jobs herself during high school to help with rent and food.¹

A scholarship took her to MIT, where she earned an electrical engineering degree. After working at Motorola, she earned a Harvard education master's in 2003.² She founded DIY Girls in 2012, giving girls in the San Fernando Valley opportunities to build skills in science and engineering.¹

Rivas spent six years in California's Assembly, advocating environmental justice, computer science and climate education. Now in her first House term, she serves as a freshman leadership representative and cochairs the bipartisan STEM Education Caucus.¹ Her campaign points to federal funding for Valley bridge repairs, transit shade, accessible streets and fire response facilities.³

Her 2026 proposal would expand federally supported research opportunities for community college, rural and other underserved students.⁴ Rivas faces fellow Democrat Angélica Dueñas, a mother of five and former neighborhood council leader whose platform includes Medicare for All, stronger worker protections and changes to immigration enforcement.⁵⁶