Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Rio Hondo Community College District; Trustee Area 4

Ronald Gonzales-Lawrence was elected to the Little Lake City School District Board of Education in August of 2007. He currently serves as the Board vice president and previously served as the board clerk. The Little Lake City School District serves more than 4,600 students at seven elementary and two middle schools in Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and Downey.

Ronald currently serves on the Board subcommittees for business services and educational services as well as on the District's wellness committee and the strategic planning central committee. He envisioned and led the effort to establish the Little Lake Education Advancement Foundation to support district schools with private funds. In addition, he led the effort to create polices promoting good government, green and eco-friendly services, safe and secure schools, and healthy behaviors among students. He has been an outspoken advocate for school funding and the maintenance of a balanced budget that preserves the quality of education in Little Lake.

To date, four out of nine Little Lake schools have achieved California Distinguished School status (three named in one year), five were named Title 1 Achieving Schools this year, and one school, William Orr Elementary School, was named a National Blue Ribbon School with two more nominated this year.

In 2010, California State Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) appointed Ronald to serve on the California Advisory Commission on Special Education. Ronald has been an outspoken advocate for Special Education students and their families.

Ronald served on the board of directors of Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services, a $20 million preschool nonprofit with 30 sites across Southeastern Los Angeles County. He is the Acting Chairperson on the Board. Under his leadership, the board and management saved the organization from closing, ensuring 2,200 families and their children continued to receive services and 400 employees retained their jobs. Ronald leading efforts to hire a new executive director and senior managers as well as implement a strategic plan, board bylaws, as well as create board protocols for governance, and new policies and procedures.

At age 18, Ronald became the youngest person in state history to serve as a field representative for a Member of the State Legislature. He helped constituents receive state services and served as the Assembly Member's liaison on issues affecting the district.

Ronald was elected to serve as the chairman of the 56th Assembly District Democratic Committee of the California Democratic Party. He was the youngest person to serve as an Assembly District Committee chairman in party history. He also served as a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee, a member of the Hubert Humphrey Democratic Club and a founding club member of the Southeast Los Angeles County Young Democrats. Ronald currently serves as a delegate to the California Democratic Party State Central Committee. He has served as a delegate continuously since he was 18 year old.

He currently is the deputy public relations coordinator for St. Paul High School and does governance consulting for nonprofit organizations. Previously, he was the public relations officer for Environment Management Enterprises, Inc. and a consultant working in governmental relations and public affairs.

He attended Rio Hondo College where he majored in political science and child development. He is pursuing his bachelor of arts in Liberal Arts at Mount St. Mary's College.

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