[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E710-E711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO MARIA HERRERA--30TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2023

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we pay special tribute to 
the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women during 
Women's History Month. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding 
women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would 
like to recognize a remarkable woman, Maria Herrera of the Elysian 
Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
  Born in 1965 in Jalisco, Mexico, Maria moved to the United States in 
the mid-1990's, settling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of

[[Page E711]]

Elysian Valley, and since that time, she has spent many years building 
and improving her community.
  Ms. Herrera's first civic engagement began while her three children 
attended Allesandro Elementary School, where she joined the Parent 
Council Board, which granted a space for guardians and parents to raise 
concerns directly with the school's administration. The council also 
attended to the needs of the community along with being a place of 
learning, and for Spanish speaking parents like herself, the council 
offered the opportunity to be involved with their children's education. 
This was extremely important to Maria--having only finished middle 
school in Mexico, she was adamant that her children and their 
classmates receive the high-quality education that she was denied.
  Because of her work on the Parent Council Board, Ms. Herrera became 
aware of other like-minded justice and educational inclusion 
organizations, one of which was the Coalition for Educational Justice 
(CEJ), now Students Deserve. In conjunction with a coalition of Los 
Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students, parents, teachers and 
other stakeholders, Maria was one of the parent organizers that 
developed grassroots strategies to improve LAUSD for students from 
underserved backgrounds through actions such as canvassing, telephone 
banking, meetings with LAUSD officials and school board members, 
walkouts, and protests. As a CEJ leader, Maria was often seen pushing 
her children in a stroller while holding up a picket sign during a 
protest. The organization achieved many victories in making student 
learning more inclusive and equitable, including increases in funding 
for the most marginalized of LAUSD students and schools.
  After Maria's children grew up, she began volunteering at the 
Northeast LA (NELA) Mercadito, a food bank that was created because of 
community members' need for fresh produce during the height of the 
COVID-19 pandemic. For the last few years, Ms. Herrera has assisted in 
the distribution of healthy produce to over 200 residents. Selfless, 
kindhearted, and generous, Maria takes care of her elderly neighbors by 
checking in on them, preparing and making food, finding and delivering 
necessary resources--even physically cleaning up their yards if needed. 
She also enjoys beautifying her entire block by planting flowers, 
plants, and cacti along the sidewalks.
  Maria and her husband, Armando, have 3 children, Dario, Mariana, and 
Armando, and two grandchildren, Sophia and Ruben.
  I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well-
respected woman of California's 30th Congressional District, Maria 
Herrera.

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