Carmen Guerrero
Editor’s note: Amigos805 will be presenting a regular profile of the winners of El Concilio Family Services’ 2011 Latino Leadership Awards, to be presented March 26 in Oxnard. The awards this year focus on educators who make a difference in the community.
Carmen Guerrero has served in a variety of educational positions at all three colleges in the Ventura County Community College District, from being a student worker at Moorpark College to her current position as dean of Career and Technical Education at Oxnard College. She also served as event planner and marketing specialist for the De Colores Art Show in Santa Paula and as president of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce.
The daughter of a farmworker who came to the United States as part of the Bracero Program, her life story parallels many of the students she interacts with and they have identified with her success and commitment to community service.
Guerrero has been involved with Oxnard College’s Puente Program, a partnership between the University of California and the California Community College system. Many of those students have gone on to attend UCSB, UCLA, UC Berkley, UC Irvine, with some graduating from Columbia University and Harvard.
She was born in Oxnard and raised in an area that is now Oxnard College. She attended schools in Oxnard, Somis and Camarillo, before attending and graduating from Moorpark College. She is a resident of Santa Paula.
Besides Guerrero, the award winners being honored this year include Elmelda P. Almanza, retired from the Oxnard School District; Javier Gomez, founder of the Inlakech Cultural Arts Center in Oxnard; Ventura County Community College District Trustee Art Hernandez; Fundi Legohn of Oxnard High School; Joseph M. Medina of California State University, Northridge; Lupe Murillo of Pacifica High School in Oxnard; Pilar Pacheco of California State University, Channel Islands; and Alex Rivera of Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
Reservations for El Concilio Family Services’ annual Latino Leadership Awards gala dinner are due by March 14. Tickets are $125 per person, $1,500 to sponsor a table.
For more information about the awards or sponsorship opportunities call Yvonne R. Gutierrez at 805.486.9777, ext. 228, send an e-mail to events@elconcilioventura.org or visit www.elconcilioventura.org