Dr. Rios has a number of passions but one thing is certain, she has always been an advocate for the local church and a supporter of the people who lead in it. Since April 2008, Dr. Liz has served as Consulting Editor for Outreach Magazine, a national magazine for church leaders, pastors and planters. Dr. Rios serves as a board member of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition which is a national network of Hispanic evangelical congregations, leaders, and not-for-profits committed to Gospel-centered transformation in the work of justice and mercy. In addition, she is a senior consultant Freedom Road, LLC which coaches, consults, trains and designs experiences to help groups in multiple sectors do justice in just ways. Dr. Rios also serves on the Send Institute's Missiologists Council which is a think tank for evangelism and church planting. The council is composed of thought-leaders and practitioners committed to expand evangelism and church planting in North America. One recent product of the council's work was the Church Planting Manifesto.
To contribute to Latinx Pentecostal history, she researched and wrote a chapter for Latino Religions and Civic Activism called "The Women are Warriors" highlighting the many achievements of Latina Pentecostal women in the NYC social activist world. The chapter was reprinted in Azusa Street and Beyond 100 Years of Commentary on the Global/Pentecostal Charismatic Movement which was highlighted at the Azusa Street Centennial. Dr. Rios has also been a contributor for CALLED, a magazine for women in leadership. From 2005-2013 she informed and inspired women nationally as a regular columnist and Contributing Editor for PRISM magazine .
Dr. Rios has been in ministry for over 29 years including serving as a pastor for a total 15 years (11 as an Executive Pastor and 4 as a co-lead Pastor with her husband). She founded a non-traditional faith community and missional training center focused on biblical justice called The Passion Center. As a covocational minister, she's worked most of her life in nonprofits and in higher education. Her educational background consists of a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, a Master of Arts in Management with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the Regent University School of Business, an earned Doctorate in Education in Organizational Leadership/Adult Education from Nova Southeastern University and an earned Doctor of Ministry degree from Southeastern University where she focused her doctoral project on starting just churches right from the start through a civic advocacy and social justice church planter training. She's done post- graduate work at Fordham University School of Religion, Indiana University Center of Philanthropy and the Blanton Peale Graduate Institute for Pastoral Counseling.
A born and bred New Yorker, Dr. Rios has two children, Samuel now in college and Daniel, her special needs angel. She's been married to Rev. Hiram Rios for 30 years and now lives in Miramar, Fl. Dr. Rios is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
