Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Whittier City School District

Dr. Irella Perez has grown from a teenager who came to this country not speaking a word of English to an outstanding student who earned a Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California. Now, she's a respected school administrator and university professor running for Whittier City School Board.

Dr. Irella Perez immigrated to United States with her family when she was 15 years old and learned early the importance of English language skills in becoming a good and productive citizen. Her intense love of learning inspired a lifelong career in the education system.

She became a teacher at age 25 and over the course of her 15-year career, Dr. Perez has worked with children in a myriad of roles. She has acted as a Head Start consultant, school counselor, classroom curriculum specialist, vice principal, and principal, among other roles. As a successful principal for the past nine years, Dr. Perez has successfully led three schools in Long Beach Unified School District, El Rancho Unified School District and Compton Unified School District. She has also spent the past two years as a professor for Argosy University teaching master's degree and doctoral courses and overseeing doctoral dissertations.

Dr. Perez has authored a children's book, Sysensita and Her Adventures, which was published earlier this year. It tells the story of a little girl, who learned to be creative with her problem-solving skills in a land teeming with violence and poverty. In many ways, it serves as a description of Perez's own childhood in Nicaragua and the lessons she learned there + lessons she hopes to impart on all children.

Despite the success of her book, education and career experience, Dr. Perez sees her most important role as that of being a mother to her four children, one of whom has special needs. "My children have educated me in ways no amount of schooling ever could," she says. "To return the favor, I am working to ensure that they receive the best education possible. It is my job and responsibility as a mother to see that happen for them and for all children in my community of Whittier."

Perez lives in Whittier with her four children. She currently acts as the City's Culture and Arts Commissioner and hopes to continue her civic engagement improving Whittier's schools as the next Whittier School Board Member.