Dolores Perales-Lara is a Detroit-based urban food systems leader advancing community-rooted approaches to land access, youth leadership, and neighborhood resilience. Rooted in Southwest Detroit, her work centers community-based organizations as drivers of equitable development and long-term food sovereignty. She bridges grassroots organizing and food systems planning, using urban agriculture as a platform for youth-driven STEM education, participatory research, and leadership development to cultivate the next generation of planners, growers, and community leaders. Through this work, Dolores aims to support models that position young people and residents not as beneficiaries, but as co-developers of the policies, practices, and spaces that shape their communities.