Candidate for
Board Member; West Contra Costa Unified School District

Raquel is a common sense leader who has worked for decades to increase educational opportunities for children. A native of Los Angeles and graduate of UCLA, Raquel moved to the East Bay in 2000 with her son, Nathan. As a young, single mother she put herself through college and graduate school overcoming many obstacles to create a better life for her son.

As a parent of a public school student, Raquel quickly became involved in local school activities by serving on the PTA and the school site council. From this experience she grew to understand how important it is to have parent's involved in critical decisions that affect the complex needs of diverse students.

While her son was in high school the effects of the achievement gap for students of color became personal. A lack of sufficient school counseling, inadequate oversight and poorly set expectations often meant that students fell through the cracks. With hard work and perseverance her son graduated from their local public high school and is currently attending college.

Now with her youngest son in the West Contra Costa Unified School District she is committed to ensuring that West County schools are the best they can be. A long-time resident of Richmond she, like so many other parents, has had to make difficult decisions about her son's education. Not all schools in the district are high performing and quality between schools varies greatly. This cannot continue. Raquel is committed to asking the right questions and working tirelessly to make this happen.

Raquel is a leader. She directs a $30M Department of Education initiative, Mission Promise Neighborhood, that creates a pipeline for students to graduate high school and enter a college or career pathway. Prior to that she served as the CEO of the Latino Community Foundation where she stewarded over $3M in Bay Area and Central Valley communities with a focus on education and youth development. She has also served as the associate director statewide policy advocacy organization that worked on education, health, environmental, and telecommunications policy.

In addition to raising a family and her professional career, Raquel also volunteers her time and has served on several boards over the years including the RYSE Center in Richmond, Greenbelt Alliance, Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, IGNITE, East Bay Regional Parks Foundation, and Access-Women's Health Rights Organization. She is also co-founder of the California Latina's for Reproductive Justice and numerous coalitions such as the Having Our Say healthcare coalition.

Raquel and her husband Edward live in Point Richmond with their son, Julian. Her son Nathan attends Clark University in Massachusetts.