Perez is a screenwriter, a co-editor of the book On Story—Screenwriters and their Craft (University of Texas Press, October 2013), a consulting producer for the television series On Story: Presented by Austin Film Festival, and a board member of the Austin Film Festival, where she also served as Conference Director for seven years. She holds a B.A. from Vassar College and is a Michener Fellow in Screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.