Mayor Maria Rivera

Biography

Mayor Maria Rivera is the 33rd Mayor of Central Falls. She is the first woman Mayor in city history, and first Latina Mayor in the State of Rhode Island.

A city resident since 1987, Rivera’s parents were originally from Puerto Rico and briefly moved to New Jersey where she was born. Soon following, her family moved to Chicago where Rivera grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, taking many ESL classes to keep up with her academics. Today, she is grateful to be bilingual, a gift also shared by many Central Falls residents. Mayor Rivera proudly raised her two bilingual children in Central Falls, and is deeply invested in empowering the next generation of young leaders, launching several initiatives to motivate young girls and students of color that have gained national attention.

Rivera’s Administration has focused on creating more affordable housing in response to the extreme housing shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the city’s child lead poisoning crisis head-on, and creating the city’s first one-stop community center to better support the mental health and welfare needs of residents. During her first term, Mayor Rivera has prioritized youth and education – helping champion $200M in new construction and redesign of all public schools in the city, revamping and building new parks and recreation sites citywide, creating more pedestrian-friendly, safer streets, and launching new supports and resources for local businesses to thrive. Mayor Rivera prides herself on being a boots-on-the-ground Mayor, hosting and volunteering at community events, and visiting residents and businesses routinely to speak with constituents about key issues and answer questions.

Prior to her swearing in as Mayor in January 2021, Rivera was the first female and first Latino Central Falls City Council President. She earned her B.A. in Public Administration from Roger Williams University and is a 1995 graduate of Central Falls High School.