I’m a product of working class immigrant parents who fought to make sure my public school education gave me the tools I needed to thrive. As English language learners my sister and I struggled with a new language, new culture, new school, and new friends but with the support of caring educators and classified staff we excelled both academically and socially. They saw us as the next generation of Latina leaders who need to be nurtured, supported and taught how to critically think. This gave my sister and I the confidence we needed to not only graduate with honors, but attend 4 year universities and find careers that we love. I’m running for school board because I want working families in Oakland to feel like they can count on OUSD to give their children everything they deserve.
My experience growing up in a working class family prompted me to work on political campaigns to make a difference for families like mine. That is how I learned about the powerful role that unions can play in the lives of working people. I’ve dedicated my career to building power for working people as part of the labor movement and have had the honor of traveling the country to support fast food workers, home care providers, hospital workers and educators – from child care providers through higher education. As a union organizer, I have learned how to support workers and community members in identifying issues, developing a strategy to make the changes they need to better their lives, and then build coalitions to win. These are skills that Oakland families need on the school board.
As a school board member, I will work on creating a budget that prioritizes the academic success of our students AND provides the proper funding to recruit and retain quality educators and classified staff, like my partner who is a Chemistry teacher at Fremont High School.
