ABOUT ME

Graciela Ortiz was born and raised in Huntington Park as the youngest of four siblings. Her father died when she was only six months old, so her mother raised her on her own.  From a young age, Graciela took her education seriously.  She began her educational career at Miles Avenue Elementary, proceeded to Gage Middle School, and graduated from Huntington Park High School in 1999 with high academic honors. 

 

Immediately after graduating from high school, Graciela attended her dream college, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  One of her greatest accomplishments at UCLA was establishing a chapter of Hermanas Unidas, which focuses on retention and empowerment of women at the university in order to ensure graduation.  Being a founding mother of Hermanas Unidas allowed Graciela to learn outstanding leadership skills that have proved useful throughout her career. Upon graduating from UCLA, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW), which she earned from California State University, Long Beach in 2006.  She also obtained her Pupil Personnel Services and Child Welfare and Attendance Credentials.  In October of 2016, Graciela became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at California State University, Fullerton. 

 

Graciela always knew that her passion was in helping children and being their advocate. So, she became a Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor at LAUSD upon receiving her master’s degree.  She served as a PSA Counselor at Banning High School, Peary Middle School, a Lead District Counselor, seven years in the Huntington Park community at Linda Esperanza Marquez High School and is now an administrator with Pupil Services.  Although she focuses on students that have attendance problems, she works with all students, helping families break down the barriers that are impeding their children from being successful.  She advocates and provides resources to students on juvenile probation, in foster care, and for those who are homeless. Her experience helping the children allows her to see issues from various perspectives and from a holistic point of view that now helps her problem solve and understand community issues as a Councilmember. 

 

Graciela Ortiz was elected to serve on Huntington Park’s City Council in March 2015 and was re-elected in March of 2020. She served as Mayor of Huntington Park from March 1, 2016 to March 28, 2017 and from March 2021 to June 2022. She currently represents Huntington Park on the HUB Cities Consortium Board where she was the Board Chair for two years. Throughout her 17 years with the district, she has been an active UTLA member and has been a UTLA-PACE Committee member since 2012.  She is now an Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) member. 

 

Graciela Ortiz strives to build communities through education.  She strongly believes that if our school system and communities work in collaboration, our society will strengthen and in turn improve the quality of life for all.  As a Councilmember, Graciela has collaborated with schools and educators in the city to provide resources, opportunities and programs that will enhance the education of all children.  Graciela knows that a child’s education is the key to their success and the success of all our communities.