The Rev. Alexia G. Salvatierra, Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice of California (CLUE-CA), was selected as the first recipient of the California Lutheran University Peace Prize.

The Peace Prize recognizes the contributions of an individual or organization in the region whose service to humanity builds the foundation for peace and justice in the world. Salvatierra’s organization, CLUE-CA, is a statewide alliance of interfaith groups and religious leaders helping low-wage workers in their struggle for a living wage, health insurance, fair working conditions and a voice in the decisions that affect them.

Salvatierra accepted her award and was guest speaker during the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. service on Jan. 19, which celebrated the life and legacy of the late civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

A pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Salvatierra has more than 30 years experience in ministry, community organizing and legislative advocacy. The Los Angeles resident has focused on helping the homeless, migrant farm workers and inner-city youth.

Before joining CLUE, she started a gang-prevention program for at-risk immigrant youth as a pastor in Fresno. In Oakland, she integrated her congregation with block parties, a community computer center and a garden where the elderly taught at-risk youth to grow produce. In 1998, she became the founding director of the Berkeley Ecumenical Chaplaincy to the Homeless, a program that was replicated in six other cities. She has also worked on projects in the Philippines, Central and South America, and Northeast Africa.