Co-Founder, Executive Director
Former California State Senator Gloria Romero is the Founder/Strategic Planner of the California Center for Parent Empowerment. She has been a dynamic advocate for education reform and civil rights.
Senator Romero (Ret.) was elected to the 24th Senate District in 2001, representing East Los Angeles and the greater San Gabriel Valley. She was elected to serve as Senate Democratic Caucus Chair and as Senate Majority Leader–the first woman to ever hold that leadership position in the history of the California State Senate. Prior to serving in the Senate, she held the post of Majority Whip in the California State Assembly from 1998-2000 and served on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees from 1995-1998 and the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission in 1998.
Senator Romero served as Chair of the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Education, and the Chair of Public Safety. She believes that education is the civil rights issue of our time. States Romero, “My mother had a sixth grade education; I have a PhD. I understand the transformational power of education and the key it holds to accessing the American Dream”.
Senator Romero led the way in championing California’s reform legislation in Race to the Top and was the author of the Parent Open Empowerment Act (popularly referred to as the Parent Trigger and Romero Open Enrollment Act law).
Senator Romero is the product of California’s public education system. She earned her PhD in Psychology at the University of California and has taught at every level of higher education. She remains a Full Professor at California State University, Los Angeles.
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