Author

David R. Ayón is co-author of Forging Latino Power: The Politics of Inclusion, Backlash, & Resistance (December 2025); Power Shift: How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America (2018), & is a Research Fellow of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles. He contributed chapters to The International Relations of California & Texas with Mexico and the World; Contemporary U.S.-Latin American Relations; The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos & Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law & Social Movements; & Mexico’s Democratic Challenges: Politics, Government & Society. He’s taught at seven California universities from UC Berkeley & Stanford to UC San Diego; was Senior Adviser to the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center & the firm Latino Decisions; directed programs of the Mexico Institute & the USC School of International Relations; & has worked as analyst, consultant, political columnist & special producer for Spanish-language TV electoral coverage in the US & Mexico. Twice Visiting Research Fellow of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, Ayón was educated at Princeton, Stanford & El Colegio de México. He’s a former director of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, member of the Council on Foreign Relations, & serves on the editorial board of Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica.

Supervisor, County of San Mateo

Noelia Corzo (she/her/ella) is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, a bilingual Spanish speaker, and a proud San Mateo native. She is an alumna of San Mateo High School, Cañada College, and San Francisco State University, where she studied sociology.

A young mother, Noelia began her career serving foster youth, people with disabilities, and working in community organizing. In 2017, she was elected to the San Mateo-Foster City School District Board, becoming its youngest and second Latine trustee, and later served as Board President during the pandemic.

In 2022, she made history as the first Latina and Indigenous person elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, where she now serves as Board President. Her leadership has focused on equity, immigrant protections, guaranteed income programs, and family-centered services.

She lives in San Mateo with her partner, their son, and their pets.

Protocol Haus

Loren Cruz is a career diplomat, former Consul, and protocol expert with over a decade in the foreign service. She has served at the Embassy of Mexico in India, Mexico's Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, and as advisor to the Mexican Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and to the Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources.

A published author and founder of Protocol Haus LLC, she helps professionals strengthen executive presence, communication, and authentic leadership. She is also part of the FIFA international experts' team for the most ambitious World Cup in history.

She holds dual Master's degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Institut des Hautes Études in Geneva, with communication training from the United Nations Institute for Research, Stanford, and the Diplomatic Academy of Germany.

Board of Supervisors, County of Sonoma

Supervisor Rebecca Hermosillo represents Sonoma County’s First District, beginning her first term in January 2025 as the first Latina elected to the Board. A Sonoma Valley native and daughter of immigrants from Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, she brings a strong commitment to public service and community.

She spent nearly 12 years working for Congressman Mike Thompson, assisting constituents with federal agencies, disaster response, and advocacy. Her community involvement includes service with organizations such as the Valley of the Moon Teen Center, Goodwill Redwood Empire, and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Latino Advisory Council.

Supervisor Hermosillo is focused on advancing equity while addressing key issues including housing, homelessness, climate change, mental health, and infrastructure, while supporting the region’s agricultural heritage. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and lives in Sonoma Valley with her two sons.

Retired Public Servant

Miguel Márquez recently retired from the City of Pasadena, where he served as City Manager. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of the County of Santa Clara, Associate Justice of California's Sixth District Court of Appeal, County Counsel for Santa Clara County, General Counsel of the San Francisco Unified School District, and as a lawyer for both the City and County of San Francisco and the County of San Mateo. He also worked in private practice at Remcho, Johansen & Purcell and Cooley LLP, and before law school was a consultant at KPMG.

During his decades-long public service career, he led numerous challenges relating to unjust civil immigration enforcement efforts by the federal government, abuses of California redevelopment laws that had been siphoning billions of dollars every year from schools and other safety-net entities, redistricting efforts after the 2000 census that resulted in robust democratic majorities in the state legislature and among California’s congressional delegation, and numerous lawsuits that brought about a more just and equitable society. 

A native of Sacramento, Márquez holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from UC Berkeley.

Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco

Supervisor Myrna Melgar represents District 7 and was elected in 2020, serving diverse Westside neighborhoods across San Francisco. An urban planner and housing policy expert, she has held key leadership roles in City government, including at the Mayor’s Office of Housing, as President of the Planning Commission, and Vice President of the Building Inspection Commission.

An immigrant from El Salvador, Myrna came to San Francisco as a child seeking refuge from civil war—an experience that informs her strong commitment to equity and opportunity. Her policy priorities include expanding affordable housing and homeownership, reducing homelessness, strengthening tenant protections, supporting small businesses and workers, and improving transportation and climate resilience.

She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University and has led community-based organizations such as the Jamestown Community Center and Mission Economic Development Agency. Myrna lives in Ingleside Terraces with her husband and three daughters and is an active supporter of the arts.

Principal Consultant, Ochoa Consulting Partners 

Steven is a demographer with over 20 years of redistricting experience. He has worked in three redistricting cycles, drawing numerous plans for multiple states, counties, cities, school districts, and special districts. As National Redistricting Coordinator with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), he directed their national redistricting program for the 2011 and 2021 redistricting cycles, while working as staff on the 2001 redistricting.

Steven has extensive expertise with the data utilized in redistricting projects, including data collected by the decennial census and the American Community Survey. He is also an expert on election data that are used in voting rights analyses, and Community of Interest data that are submitted by the public. Steven has conducted dozens of analyses for Federal Voting Rights Act compliance and constructed maps that comply with all legal criteria.

A long-time collaborator with community and advocacy groups, Steven has led many meetings that brought together the public and experts to engage them in redistricting processes.

A Los Angeles area native, Steven was trained at the UC Berkeley Statewide Database in the use of Census and election data and GIS mapping. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley (2000) and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan (2006).

Municipal Strategic Advisors LLC

Deanna served as the City Manager for the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, City Administrator for Oakland, and Deputy City Manager for San Jose. Her appointment in Oakland made her the first Latina in the nation appointed to manage a large U.S. city. As President & CEO of MissionSquare Retirement, Santana was responsible for approximately $84B of invested assets, 9,000 public sector employers, and over 1.3M participants. Deanna holds a master’s degree from MIT and two bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley. She earned a professional certificate from Harvard Business School where she studied finance and governance. She is founder and owner of Municipal Strategic Advisors LLC which provides land use and data center professional/technical support.

Raised in East Los Angeles, Rene attended the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles, earning degrees in Urban Planning and Public Health. He was appointed to the Los Angeles County Planning Commission by Supervisor Gloria Molina in 1991.  He served in the Health Crisis Team and as Executive in the Department of Health Services to save and reform the public healthcare system from 1994-2002.  During his professional years in Los Angeles, he also served as a member of the Los Angeles City Affordable Housing Commission and as Co-Chair for the planning of the lightrail system.  He worked for 10 years at the County of San Diego as General Manager for Health and Human Services until 2012.  Subsequently, he served as Director of the County of Santa Clara Health System from 2012-2023.

Throughout his professional years, he also served on a variety of community boards focusing on youth development and underserved communities. He is a resident of the City of San Jose, where he lives with his wife and son, who just graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga.