Jackie is the proud daughter of immigrants, raised in poverty by a single Latina mother. Faced with housing insecurity and public safety concerns, Jackie and her family were often forced to move to find safer or more affordable communities where her mother felt comfortable raising her young children. Through instability and adversity, public education became her stabilizing force. Through the mentorship and guidance of teachers and counselors at the many public schools she attended, Jackie was able to excel in school and navigate college admissions processes to become the first in her extended family to graduate from college.
She began her professional career as a bilingual teacher at an East Oakland public elementary school, where she taught children to read in their home language before building their English reading and writing skills. Sharing a culture with many of her students, and leaning on her earlier life experiences working with youth in after-school programs and summer camps, Jackie quickly connected with her students and was able to make extraordinary academic and socio-emotional strides with her students. She was asked to coach fellow teachers, took the initiative to help design curricular frameworks, and ultimately, was asked to serve as Vice-Principal and then Principal of the same school where she began her career.
In her role as school leader, she quickly began to see the cracks in systems intended to serve children and youth, along with the broader obstacles to their success. Frustrated by these systemic challenges, she decided to pivot to a career in public policy. After completing a Master’s Degree, Jackie began a role at a collective impact organization, where she would spend the next 4 years convening public officials and local change makers to improve life outcomes for Oakland’s children from cradle to career. In her role, she was able to spearhead cross-sector investments in teacher supports, violence prevention, and mental health programming, as well as forge relationships that have been fundamental to countless youth-serving collaborative projects.
Her scope of impact broadened recently when she was brought on as District Director for the Office of Assemblymember Mia Bonta, where she’s had the opportunity to advocate for San Leandro’s needs in the legislature, along with the cities of Oakland and Alameda.
Jackie’s most important roles are her role as mother to her two young children who are both born and raised in San Leandro, wife to her husband Daniel who works to develop more affordable housing across the Bay Area and California, and daughter, sister, and friend to the many kind and supportive individuals in her life.
Jackie is the product of California public schools, including a Bachelor’s from UC Santa Barbara and Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. She serves on the Boards of Roosevelt Elementary PTA and Upward Roots, an education not-for-profit. Jackie also serves as a member of Roosevelt’s School Site Council.
