Ina Minjarez

Ina was born & raised in El Paso, Texas by parents with deep roots in social justice. Ina and her sister were taught that hard work and education would kick open the doors of opportunity. She attended the University of Notre Dame, where Ina wrote about social justice issues and traveled to serve the underprivileged and the oppressed. She picked crops with migrant workers and interned in the office of an El Paso attorney who helped migrants and refugees file for legal residency.

After attending St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio she has had a successful career prosecuting defendants charged with crimes against children and later in her private practice she's represented children who were victims of abuse and neglect in Child Protective Service cases. She has successfully helped pass legislation that has shaped foster care reform in Texas, as well as laws that have enhanced direct access to healthcare services and family and child welfare initiatives.