Mia Bonta ( Mialisa Tania Villafañe; born January 26, 1972) is an American politician serving as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she represents the 18th Assembly District, which consists of

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, Alameda, and

Emeryville Emeryville may refer to: * Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San ...

Early life and education

Bonta is the daughter of a divorced working mother in the Bronx. She attended Yale University, where she met Rob Bonta as a freshman. Bonta earned a Master of Education degree from the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

before attending Yale Law School with Rob Bonta.

Career

Mia Bonta is the CEO of Oakland Promise, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

cradle-to-college support program focused on the city’s low-income students. In 2018, she was elected to the Alameda School Board. During her special election campaigns, Bonta's opponents claimed that she benefited from her husband’s position and name, and pointed to money she has received from gambling interests that may be intended to influence Rob Bonta. In the primary, Bonta finished first place with 38% of the vote, and in the runoff, she defeated human rights attorney Janani Ramachandran by 56% to 44%.

Personal life

She has three children with her husband, Rob Bonta.

Elections

References

External links

Join California Mia Bonta
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonta, Mia 1972 births 21st-century American women American women chief executives Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Nonprofit chief executives Yale Law School alumni