Born in the Mexican city of Chihuahua, Margarita Barney studied languages and became an interpreter and translator. She dedicated most of her adult life to the support of education in Mexico. As part of a group of young parents, she started a Montessori school in Chihuahua, and she worked for a school that prepared Montessori teachers in Mexico City. Witnessing the pollution in Mexico City and the widespread indifference of its inhabitants, she carried out different campaigns to raise awareness. Later, Margarita studied ecology, population and development at the Ibero-American University and formed the group Environmental Volunteers of Tecamachalco, which later became GRUPEDSAC. Margarita and GRUPEDSAC have been recognized nationally and internationally for their work.