Candidate for
United States Representative; District 47; Republican Party

I am an experienced, proven candidate. I have been married for 33 years, raised five children, and am currently serving my fifteenth year as an elected official on the Santa Ana School Board. I am the founder and president of the Orange County Youth Commission which links caring mentors with inner-city children, providing homework help, structured sports, and character Education. I am also a Biola University Trustee and was appointed by the President of the United States to serve on the President's Commission on Whitehouse Fellows. I also understand Communism as my family left Guatemala in 1953 when Guatemala was becoming Communist.

BIOGRAPHY: Rosie Avila, an Orange County resident for over 35 years, and a Santa Ana resident since 1976, is currently serving on the Santa Ana Unified School Board. She has completed 14 years of service as an elected official and has garnered the most votes during her four elections. She has fought for our conservative values and successfully helped to reform education for Santa Ana's 60,000 students.

Born in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, she came to the United States with her family when she was six years old due to Communism taking over the country. Her father, being a vocal opponent of Communism was placed on a blacklist, and her father's cousin had his tongue cut off and was shot at the firing squad by the Communists. Her family instilled love for freedom and democracy in young Rosie.

Rosie holds an elementary teaching credential, was an honor student in high school and college. She graduated cum laude from Biola University with a B.A. in Social Science and a minor in Latin American History. She holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership.

In 1997, Rosie founded the Orange County Youth Commission, a non-profit organization that provides after-school programs for at-risk and inner-city youth. The OCYC currently serves 450 young people in 15 after-school programs, including the Santa Ana Boxing Club.

In 1998, she received an Educational Excellence Award from the California School Board Leadership Council, the Friend of the Family Award from Capitol Resource Institute, and a Community Recognition Award from Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Department.

Rosie has been appointed by President George W. Bush to the President's Commission on White House Fellows where she helped select the top 12 promising young adults to work under White House Cabinet members. She received a Congressional appointment to the RENEW Advisor to Congress, has served on the County Central Committee for the Republican Party, the State Central Committee, and was a delegate to the National GOP Convention in Houston.

Rosie has been married to Jim Avila for 33 years. Jim is a Quality Assurance Inspector for American Airlines. Together, they have raised 5 children, and one is a graduate from Biola and is married, two are presently attending college, one graduated from special education programs, and her youngest is a senior at the OCHSA (Orange County High School of the Arts).