About Adriana
Raised by Working Families
I am the daughter of working-class parents, a first-generation college graduate, an educator, a community organizer, and a proud daughter of South-Central Los Angeles.
My parents worked as costureros, and my grandparents were farmworkers. Growing up, I saw firsthand the knowledge, sacrifice, resilience, and determination families carry from one generation to the next.
Learning to Navigate Systems Early
I also became my parents' translator, helping with forms, appointments, paperwork, conversations, and systems. Before I ever studied public policy, I was already learning how institutions work, how to ask questions, and how important it is to have someone help make a complicated process understandable. While still in high school, I began taking community college classes in the evenings and later attended Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.
South Central taught me that our communities already carry knowledge, resilience, and the ability to make a way.
A First-Generation Journey: Turning Education Into Access
As a first-generation student, I learned higher education step by step: financial aid, admissions, transfer pathways, career programs, who to call, what to ask, and where to go next.
I went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Chicana/o Studies, a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Policy and Management, and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from California State University, Northridge.
Higher Education and Mentorship
For five years, I worked with CSUN's Educational Opportunity Program Admissions Office, helping students and families navigate the college process. My graduate research focused on first-generation Latino students through Critical Race Theory and Community Cultural Wealth. That research gave language to something South Central had already taught me: students do not arrive empty-handed. They carry family knowledge, language, relationships, aspirations, resilience, resourcefulness, and the ability to navigate complicated worlds.
Building Programs that Deliver Results
I wanted to put that belief into practice. I founded Empowering Youth in South Central to expand college and career access for first-generation young people in my community. I brought college-access workshops into local high schools, helped connect students with resources, and worked to make higher education feel closer and more reachable.
At Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, I also helped build support for immigrant students through the Dream Resource Center and organizing with Respect Immigrant Students' Education.
Education opened doors for me, and I felt a responsibility to help others find those doors too.
Serving Families During Crisis
My work has never stopped at education. I have worked across college access, immigrant support, food justice, environmental health, neighborhood organizing, public policy, and government access; always with the same focus on helping communities connect to resources and institutions.
Through South Central Mutual Aid LA and the South-Central Unity Coalition, I have worked alongside families through food distribution, Know Your Rights outreach, renter and worker advocacy, and neighborhood organizing. My community-based work has also included organizations such as Root Down LA, connecting food justice, community health, and access to greener spaces.
Making Government Easier to Access
I have also worked with my local, state, and federal elected officials. As a Project Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, the largest civic engagement system in the United States, I advanced language access, supported more than 300 Neighborhood Council leaders, and led outreach and educational workshops across Los Angeles, from the Harbor and San Fernando Valley to South Central, Koreatown, and MacArthur Park.
I later served as President of the Central Alameda Neighborhood Council and as a Region 9 Budget Advocate for the City of Los Angeles, experiences that gave me firsthand knowledge of how public institutions operate, how budgets shape communities, and how important it is for residents to be able to participate in the decisions that affect them.
Educator and Candidate for LACCD
Today, I continue working as an educator, supporting young people as they learn, build confidence, and imagine what is possible for their futures.
For me, access means making sure resources actually reach the people they were created to serve.
Join the Team
Help Us Finish Strong
We’re building the coalition that will carry Adriana to Election Day. Every door, call, conversation, and yard sign helps us reach another voter.
November 3 is coming. Let’s win this together.