As Vice President of Community Engagement & Policy, Aurea leads First 5 LA’s work in community engagement, partnership development, data and policy and advocacy. With more than 30 years of experience in coalition development, policy and advocacy and capacity building, Aurea’s work with communities historically impacted by systemic inequities is deeply tied to amplifying their collective voice.
Aurea most recently served as the Executive Vice President of the Community Coalition, where she co-founded numerous sustainable community-led coalitions focused on improving the well-being of children, led advocacy efforts at the local and state levels, and provided strategic leadership to multiple community action campaigns and initiatives. Her coalition-building and advocacy work has produced a gold standard in leadership development while emphasizing sustainability, capacity-building, and securing private and public funding for initiatives serving children, families and communities.
Among Aurea’s major accomplishments include co-founding the Make LA Whole Coalition to bring attention to the needs of children, women and overpoliced communities adversely affected by COVID-19; leading Kinship in Action, a landmark organizing project that mobilized relative caregivers and helped secure tens of millions of dollars to keep children in family care and out of the foster care system; and spearheading two important campaigns that enabled Community Coalition to transform its headquarters into a state-of-the-art hub for community organizing. Her work has been recognized by Catalyst California, the ACLU of Southern California, and the Tides Foundation, among others.
Born in Mexico and raised in South LA, Aurea earned her bachelor’s degrees in political science and Spanish literature from UCLA and a master’s in social welfare from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.
