I am equipped to tackle both current and future challenges facing our nation.

I was born in 1962 in El Paso, Texas, to legal Mexican immigrants before moving to Baldwin Park, California. Having attended De Anza Elementary School for Kindergarten, followed by Saint John’s Baptist Catholic School from 1st through 8th grade, and graduating in 1976. My educational journey continued at Don Bosco Technical Institute for high school, where I graduated in 1981. I attended Rio Hondo Community College and Mt. San Antonio Community College before earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of La Verne in 1986. I pursued additional psychology research courses at California State University, Los Angeles, before being accepted to the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1989, where I completed a Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology in 1996. During my time at Santa Barbara, I published research articles in cross-cultural counseling.