{"id":213389,"date":"2026-03-10T17:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/213389\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:21:09","slug":"alum-serves-as-first-latina-school-board-president-in-anaheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/213389\/","title":{"rendered":"Alum Serves as First Latina School Board President in Anaheim"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"JessicaMcNair Scholars alum Jessica Guerrero stands outside the Anaheim Union High School District office. She is the youngest and first Latina elected to the district’s board of trustees.\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Jessica Guerrero\u2019s educational experiences at Cal State Fullerton, including as a McNair Scholar, set her on a path to a career in public service and to serve as the first Latina school board president in Anaheim.<\/p>\n

\u201cCSUF provided me with a strong sense of community while reinforcing my commitment to public service and educational equity,\u201d said Guerrero, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in public administration in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guerrero is a senior policy adviser for the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She works alongside government agencies and nonprofit organizations to expand opportunities that connect communities to vital resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I enjoy most about my work is the ability to give back to the community,\u201d said Guerrero, the first in her family<\/a> to graduate from college.<\/p>\n

\"JessicaJessica Guerrero at an Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees meeting.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Guerrero made history as the youngest and first Latina elected to the Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees. She currently serves as the board president and oversees policies and initiatives for the same schools she attended as a child.<\/p>\n

Since her election to the board, she has worked to address student food insecurity and to expand learning opportunities through internships.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a first-generation student, I understand the challenges many students face,\u201d said Guerrero, who participated in CSUF\u2019s GEAR UP<\/a>, Educational Talent Search<\/a> and Project MISS<\/a> programs in high school to prepare for college.<\/p>\n

Guerrero, who went on to earn a master\u2019s degree in public policy at UC Irvine in 2020, shared that being a McNair Scholar gave her the drive to reach for the stars in her career and community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most rewarding part of being a McNair Scholar was being surrounded by peers and mentors who believed in your potential and that the work you were doing would make a lasting impact,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt affirmed that students from underrepresented and first-generation backgrounds belong in graduate school and leadership spaces, and that our perspectives are valuable in shaping research and policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"McNairAlum Jessica Guerrero with CSUF President Ronald Rochon at the OC Black History Parade & Unity Festival in Anaheim. (Courtesy of Richard Santana)<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s McNair Scholars Program<\/a> provided Guerrero with mentorship, academic support, exposure to research and preparation for graduate school and her career. She built strong research, writing and critical-thinking skills while learning how to navigate higher education spaces with confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese experiences prepared me not only for graduate school but also for my career in public service, where analytical thinking and policy evaluation are essential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Patricia Literte, director of the McNair Scholars Program, said that, like astronaut and physicist Ronald E. McNair \u2014 the program\u2019s namesake \u2014 no matter where students like Guerrero come from or what they have been through, they can accomplish their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen McNair Scholars graduate from CSUF, they are, in Dr. McNair\u2019s words, \u2018better than enough.\u2019 They have gone on to master\u2019s and Ph.D. programs around the country and have become leaders in all fields and industries,\u201d Literte said.<\/p>\n

During her undergraduate education, Guerrero minored in Chicana and Chicano studies and women and gender studies and was also involved with the student organization, Hermanas Unidas de CSUF.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese experiences further strengthened my understanding of equity and informed my approach to inclusive, thoughtful decision-making as I entered my career in government,\u201d said Guerrero, who plans to continue her career in public service and hopes to one day make an impact on the field of political science.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining my real-world experience with advanced academic training, I hope to contribute to research in political science and mentor future students interested in careers in public service.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" McNair Scholars alum Jessica Guerrero stands outside the Anaheim Union High School District office. She…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,97975],"class_list":["post-213389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-public-administration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}