Frankie Villasenor Guzman. Photo by BB Rivas / El Concilio Family Services
Editor’s note: Part of a continuing series of stories profiling the award-winners of El Concilio Family Services 2014 Latino Leadership Awards. The awards gala will be held on Saturday, May 31 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Click here to register or to become a sponsor or call 805-486-9777 for more information.
Amigos805 staff reports
Frankie Villasenor Guzman faced a number challenges growing up in Oxnard. His parents divorced when he was three years of age and his mother worked long hours cleaning homes in upscale Malibu, routinely reminding her son to do right and “act like a man.” His older brother was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving 17 years to life. Guzman himself was sentenced to 15 years in the California Youth Authority for auto theft and armed robbery.
In 1999, after serving three years for good behavior, he enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program at Oxnard College, where he said he found much support and encouragement from his counselor, faculty members and the then college president. However, he was incarcerated for one year at Chino prison for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But while there he took academic courses from the University of La Verne and became interested in law.
With the support from Oxnard College, he earned a JD Degree from the UCLA School of Law, where he served as president of La Raza Law Students Association and the Pacific Regional director of the National Latino Law Students Association. He has worked at the Prison Law Office, the Public Counsel Law Center, the National Center for Youth Law and the Greenlining Institute. He passed the bar exam in 2012 and after 14 months passed the final ‘moral character’ portion of the California State Bar. His mother, who is disabled from years of cleaning, and two sisters, were in the front role during his swearing-in at a packed courtroom of family, friends and supporters.
“I have supervised about 500 law students, many of them are talented and come from privileged backgrounds,” John O’Toole wrote in a reference letter for Guzman. “Frankie is among the top 10 in terms of a combination of intellectual capacity, leadership potential and strength of character.”
For more information on El Concilio’s programs and services or reservations for the awards gala, visit www.elconciliofs.org or call 805-486-9777.