Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Montebello Unified School District

DAVID VELA MONTEBELLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER BIOGRAPHY Mr. David Vela is a proud product of the Montebello Unified School District, for which he currently serves as a member on the Board of Education. David has had an extensive career in public service championing labor causes. In 2002, David served as Senior Legislative Assistant to former Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg, handling Labor and Transportation issues. Before that, David also served as Senior Advisor to the Employment Development Department under the Labor and Industrial Relations Agency in the Governor Gray Davis administration. Here, he spearheaded a state-wide 9/11 response assisting hotel workers by deploying unemployment specialists throughout the state and physically working with them to set up relief centers. Mr. Vela spent 10 years as a Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. In this capacity David oversaw two billion dollars in capital infrastructure improvements. Mr. Vela acted as a liaison to Ms. Molina on these projects and advised that a project labor agreement (PLA) should be in place on all Metro projects. Mr. Vela also welcomed SEIU 721 members at the field offices while they advocated for better pay. In 2012, David was asked to take on the role of Chief of Staff to the Assembly Labor Committee Chair, Assemblymember Roger Hernandez. In this capacity Mr. Vela worked with the CA Federation of Labor and its members to have landmark legislation passed. He was able to assist Mr. Hernandez in protecting workers in warehouses from retaliation if they were to choose to organize. In the past, Mr. Vela has been COPE endorsed as well as endorsed by the Los Angeles / Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council and the California Service Employees Association Chapter 500. He continues to support employees by working with staff to identify funds for wage and benefit increases for the California School Services Employees Association (CSEA) workers. In addition Mr. Vela implemented a "shared governance" philosophy where major stakeholders like CSEA are present to provide input to major decisions and projects such as the hiring of Superintendents and Cabinet, construction bonds, the LCAP and PLA's. Mr. Vela has also written op-eds to promote the importance of green jobs and the implementation of Prop 39 dollars in his district. Over the last 7 years on the MUSD Board, Mr. Vela has created a perfect attendance program which has improved the District's Average Daily Attendance to over 96%. Mr. Vela has also implemented College Bound Today -- a college preparatory program, which matches mentors with high school sophomores to guide them through the college application process. David Vela has been a champion for linked learning and spearheaded one of the only pathways high schools in the United States, the Applied Technology Center. David is now Vice President of Lee Andrews Group, a Minority and Women owned Public Affairs firm in Downtown Los Angeles. David Vela received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy with concentrations in Economics and International Relations from Pepperdine University in Malibu.