Strong Public Schools and Career Training

As a first-generation college graduate who earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice and later taught at the community college level, Ida knows education opens the door to opportunity. She'll fight to strengthen our public schools, support teachers, and expand career training and apprenticeship programs so more students can build good-paying careers right here at home.

Ida supports expanding access to quality, affordable childcare and early education so every child gets a strong start and parents can stay in the workforce. Early educators and teachers deserve fair pay and the support they need to do their jobs well. On the Imperial City Council, she has championed bilingual education programs that serve working families in our community.

As past president of MANA de Imperial Valley, a nonprofit that has supported Latinas in the region for more than 30 years, Ida has helped award $30,000 in scholarships each year to young women pursuing higher education, and she has mentored students exploring careers in healthcare. In the Assembly, she will work to make college more affordable and build clear pathways into good-paying careers in healthcare, the skilled trades, and emerging industries. Keeping young people in the region depends on those opportunities being available here, so the next generation can build a future close to home.