Background and Career
Molina grew up as one of ten children in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, United States, to a Mexican-American father and Mexican mother. She attended public schools in her hometown, and attended Rio Hondo College, East Los Angeles College and California State University, Los Angeles. While attending college, she worked full time as a legal secretary. Then she became certified as an adult education instructor and taught clerical skills at the East Los Angeles Skills Center.
She was first elected to office in 1982 as State Assemblywoman for the 56th District. In 1987, she was elected to the Los Angeles City Council where she served as the Councilwoman of the First District until 1991. In February 1991, she was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, representing the First Supervisorial District. Ms. Molina is the first Latina in history to be elected to the California State Legislature, the Los Angeles City Council, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Prior to being elected to public office, Molina served in the Carter White House as a Deputy for Presidential Personnel. After leaving the White House, she served in San Francisco as a Deputy Director for the Department of Health and Human Services.
One of Molina's significant achievements was her involvement with the Mothers of East Los Angeles, a group formed to organize against a proposed plan to build a prison in East LA. As city councilwoman, she found government unresponsive to her concerns of yet another proposal to build a prison near schools in the predominantly Chicano and Mexican neighborhood.
In April 2006, Molina was honored as the "Hispanic Business Woman of the Year" by Hispanic Business magazine.
Read more about this topic: Gloria Molina
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