Kelly Fitzpatrick-Gonez (born 1988) is a former science teacher and current member and president of the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

Board of Education. She was elected as a board member in 2017 and as president in 2020. Prior to her election, she had previously served as an education policy advisor for the Obama administration.

Early life and education

Gonez was born in 1988 to an immigrant family in Mission Hills. She attended St. Euphrasia Catholic School in Granada Hills for elementary and middle school and graduated from Bishop Alemany High School in 2006. She was the first in her family to attend college, graduating from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

in political science and history and later Loyola Marymount University with a

master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in urban education.

Career

Early career

Gonez first taught geometry at an LAUSD high school, later becoming a 6th-grade science teacher from Lake View Terrace. In 2014, Gonez was appointed by then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

to serve as an education policy advisor. As an advisor, she secured over $50 million in additional education funding and led the administration to increase education funding and support for special populations. The Obama administration later endorsed Gonez for the board.

LAUSD Board of Education

On October 18, 2016, Gonez announced that she would be running for the District 6 seat in the Board of Education. She won against Imelda Padilla on May 17, 2017. In 2020, she was elected by her colleagues to become the president of the Board of Education, becoming the youngest woman president in the history of the board to become one at 32. Her election, along with Nick Melvoin as vice president, signified a shift toward more influence for backers of charter schools, as both members were supported by pro-charter donors.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonez, Kelly 1988 births 21st-century American politicians California Democrats School board members in California Living people Loyola Marymount University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Obama administration personnel