Born and raised in
Milwaukee's south side, Cabrera graduated from
Nathan Hale High School in 1993. She earned her bachelor's degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison, in Spanish and Latin American Iberian Studies, and earned her J.D. from
Michigan State University College of Law in 2002. She was admitted to the state bars of
Wisconsin and
Florida, and worked as an
immigration attorney in private practice and with the non-profit group Voces de la Frontera ("Voices from the Border"). She is the former chair of the Milwaukee Police and Fire Commission and the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Latino Caucus. For her work with the Latino Caucus, she was recognized by the Democratic Party of
Milwaukee County with the 2016 Rising Star Award. In 2018, she successfully challenged incumbent Assemblymember
Josh Zepnick in a Democratic
primary election, after losing an earlier attempt in 2016. She was elected without opposition in the 2018 general election. In 2017, Zepnick had been accused of sexually harassing two female colleagues; he had been stripped of his committee assignments and Assembly privileges but refused to resign. In the Assembly, Cabrera serves on the committees on the Judiciary, International Affairs and Commerce, Small Business Development, Consumer Protection, Constitution and Ethics, and State Affairs. In October 2023, Cabrera announced that she would run for a
Wisconsin circuit court judgeship in Milwaukee County, to succeed the retiring judge Marshall B. Murray. Cabrera narrowly won the election in April 2024, and took office as a judge in August 2024. ==Electoral history==