Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Rio Hondo Community College District; Trustee Area 2

"Despite the economic challenges, I worked tirelessly to fulfill my promise to improve college access and student success, create a seamless pipeline to college and ensure our financial stability for future students."

--Vicky Santana, Rio Hondo College Vice President of the Board of Trustees

Vicky Santana currently serves as the Rio Hondo College Board of Trustee for Area 2, which encompasses all of Pico Rivera and the west portion of Whittier, and is seeking your support for Re-Election. In the last four years, she has served our community with great leadership, fiscal responsibility and ingenuity despite economic turmoil. While she served on the board, the College overcame many obstacles without cutting classified staff, faculty or academic programs. The main goal of the College to serve the community educationally continued and no classes were cut, including summer school.

Ms. Santana is an ardent believer in the power and value of education. The daughter of immigrants, she is a product of the public school system where she graduated in the top of her class and was the first in her family to attend an Ivy League institution. When single-motherhood temporarily threatened her educational goals, Ms. Santana remained steadfast in her commitment to graduate from college, returning to Southern California so that--with the support of her loving family--she could balance the challenges of motherhood; her university studies at Whittier College; and her work in the legal and vocational rehabilitation fields. Ms. Santana earned her Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 2004.

She currently works as a manager for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, where she has helped save millions of dollars of taxpayers' dollars in workers compensation costs by helping injured employees in returning to work quickly. She has also worked diligently to increase the promotion and hiring of probation officers.

Ms. Santana previously served as Senior Justice Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina for over seven years. In this capacity, she helped oversee $4 billion worth of law enforcement-related budgets and assisted on all county public safety issues. Her tenure with Supervisor Molina also involved advocacy for education via oversight of the implementation of the L.A. Universal Preschool Initiative and monitoring of the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)--the largest regional educational agency and HEAD Start program administrator in the nation. As Senior Justice Deputy, Ms. Santana worked directly alongside Supervisor Molina to significantly increase Sheriff's Deputy Patrol and bring the Graffiti Tracker to Pico Rivera, widely credited for putting a huge dent in the city's graffiti problem.

A diligent parent, Ms. Santana guided and made education a priority in her son Daniel's education. Daniel is now a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ms. Santana also served on the Rio Hondo College Citizens Oversight Committee, which is responsible for ensuring that the Measure A voter approved bond measure of $245 million is only used for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or replacement of college facilities on and off campus.

Ms. Santana is seeking reelection to her seat as the Rio Hondo College Board of Trustees, Area 2; the election for this position will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2015.