LUCAS BENITEZ

CO-FOUNDER, COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS, IMMOKALEE

Benitez, a Mexican immigrant, faced exploitative work conditions when he toiled in Immokalee tomato fields as a teenager. In 1993, he co-founded the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to better protect farmworkers and is a leading voice for farmworker rights. Benitez has helped uncover trafficking and modern-day slave labor cases on several farms, helping free 700-plus farmworkers in one case alone. He leads the international expansion of the CIW’s Fair Food Program and has hosted Radio Conciencia 107.7, an Immokalee-based CIW radio station for agricultural immigrant communities. He has also received several high-profile awards for his humanitarian work.