VOTING LOCAL: Amy Jimenez for Compton (CA) Mayor
Amy is the proud daughter of immigrant parents. As a child of Mexican immigrants, her adolescence was shaped with the responsibility of helping her parents navigate life in America. She was raised in an immigrant household characterized by patriarchy and paternalism; rooted in the diversity and rich cultural heritages of Compton; educated in the public schools, an educational system that reflects the disparities and divisions of Los Angeles; and surrounded by poverty and violence. Inspired by the community’s optimism and perseverance, she took a risk and attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan and then earned her master’s in International Social & Public Policy at London School of Economics in London, only to return as a change agent, equipped with social grounding in lived experiences.
As a first-generation college student, overcoming the barriers of funding and inclusion, Amy challenged herself and pursued opportunities to live in different communities domestically and internationally—like Haiti, India, and Spain—which expanded her worldview. Yet, while living in these communities, she witnessed the same social issues that she witnessed in Compton—poverty, health and educational disparities, insecurity, and socioeconomic injustice. Amy strove to engage the communities she lived in and worked on issues of educational disparities. In doing so, it became clear that while individual programs are impactful, systems-level collaboration is needed to push beyond short-term solutions that leave a cycle of recurring problems with scarce resources and no resolution.
Thus, she went to Sacramento in search of long-term, sustainable solutions. Since then, she has engaged in policy work and multilevel collaborations between governments and community organizations that work directly towards long-term resolutions. Focused on youth development and educational disparities, Amy has worked as an educator, mentor, director, and advocate to promote the visibility, engagement, and accessibility of underrepresented students in higher education and in the workplace across California and the United States.
Her experience as a Mexican-American female in the United States, and the educational and professional opportunities she was able to access despite the systemic barriers she came up against have driven her efforts to address the longstanding issues and work towards creating a Compton that is responsive to the diverse needs of its community. Like her parents, she is committed to working hard to build a better future for the next generation of Comptonians. She aims to lead progressively and inclusively, and asks how we can create the most impactful and long-lasting change for our community?
https://amyjimenez.org/en/home-3/
