Marisa Bono
Chief Executive Officer
Lifelong advocate and thought leader Marisa Bono joined the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services as CEO in 2025 after more than two decades of policy and social justice work. She is a licensed attorney and has specific policy expertise in the areas of education, immigration, voting rights, and political access.
Marisa brings extensive experience as a civil rights lawyer,public servant, and nonprofit executive. Earlier in her career, Marisa served as the Southwest Regional Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation’s premier Latino civil rights law firm. While at MALDEF, Marisa was a leading civil rights litigator and directed MALDEF’s litigation and state policy agendas in the areas of education and funding, immigration, voting rights, political access and employment in the Southwest region. Her own docket focused on immigrants’ rights and education impact litigation across a broad spectrum. Marisa has unique experience in the area of school funding, having tried school funding cases in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, where she represented families challenging the inadequacy of school funding for low income and English Language Learner students. She represented both immigrant and U.S. Citizen families who were assaulted by vigilante ranchers in the Arizona desert, military veterans who were wrongfully denied education benefits by the State of Texas, and immigrants who were wrongfully denied drivers’ licenses, housing, and in-state tuition.
Most recently, Marisa gave leadership as CEO of Every Texan, a 40-year old public policy research and advocacy organization focused on expanding opportunity for Texans of all backgrounds. She has also served as the Chief Strategic Officer of VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio where she successfully led an initiative to expand service for working families and low wage workers. Marisa joined VIA after serving as Chief of Policy for San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, where she served as a senior advisor and oversaw the implementation of his policy agenda, including priorities related to transportation, housing, and education and workforce development.
Marisa was born and raised in San Antonio. She has a law degree and master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan, where she was Managing Editor of the Michigan Law Review. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rice University.
Personal Values: Courage, Integrity, Community