I am honored to serve the Santa Rosa High School community as Vice Principal. My journey as an educator—and as a person—cannot be told without sharing the story of my parents, whose strength and resilience continue to inspire the work I do every day.
My mother is a first-generation Mexican-American and one of 14 children. She was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where she spent her youth caring for siblings and picking cotton. My father came to this country undocumented from a small town in the mountains of rural Michoacán, Mexico. Due to poverty, he left school in the second grade to help support his family, working the land and raising animals.
Both of my parents came to Sonoma County in the late 1950s to work in the apple orchards of Sebastopol. They eventually purchased their first home in Windsor, where my mother still resides after 53 years. My father worked as Head Custodian at Analy and El Molino High Schools for 29 years. While working at Analy, a teacher volunteered to teach him how to read—an act of kindness and belief that had a profound impact. He became a U.S. citizen in 1997 and passed away in 2019.
I grew up in a working-class neighborhood on the west side of Windsor and graduated from Healdsburg High School. As a student, I benefited from programs such as Head Start, Bilingual Education, Migrant Education, and other supports designed for low-income families. I am deeply grateful for those opportunities, which helped shape my belief in the transformative power of education.
I earned my A.A. at Santa Rosa Junior College and transferred to Sonoma State University, where I received a B.A. in Chicano and Latino Studies. I began my teaching career in East Palo Alto as an elementary school teacher while earning my Administrative Credential from San Francisco State University in 2008.
Over the years, I have served as Assistant Principal at two middle schools, a dual-immersion charter school, and most recently, as Principal of Brook Hill Elementary School here in Santa Rosa.
As an educator and leader, I am most passionate about advancing equity, building strong relationships with students, families, and teachers, and fostering a culturally responsive school environment where all students feel seen, heard, and valued. My personal and professional experiences have taught me that education is not just about academic achievement—it’s about community, identity, and opportunity.
Outside of school, my greatest joy is spending time with my wife of 14 years, Nikki, and our three children—Cruz (13), Eva (12), and Maya (9). Being part of the SRHS community is both a privilege and a responsibility I embrace with great pride and purpose.
