Dallas County Community College

By Celina Vasquez

April 15, 2015

Celina Vásquez is currently a Visiting Scholar in Government at Mountain View College. She teaches Federal and Texas Government. Mountain View College was founded in 1970, as the second of seven colleges established within the Dallas County Community College District. It is located in southwest Dallas, and is a Hispanic-Serving Institution that serves more than 8,600 students.

Celina was born in Compton, CA. She is the daughter of an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and migrant farmworker, her mother Olga from Sinaloa and her father Luis from Michoacán. Her grandfather Francisco Vazquez was a bracero recruited to work in Uvalde, Texas. She has three sisters and one brother. Celina and her siblings are first generation college graduates and survivors of domestic violence. She is a member of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Fort Worth Chapter, American Association of University Women, Tarrant County branch and Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education.

Celina was re-elected to the State Democratic Executive Committee, Senate District 9 in June 2014, and serves as Past Chair of the Texas Latina List. Founded in 2013, Texas Latina List is a progressive political action committee committed to promoting and increasing active participation of Latinas at all levels of elected and appointed offices, including public boards and commissions.

Her community service currently includes the City of Fort Worth Community Development Council, District 2, Tarrant County Child Protective Services Board, and the Eastside YMCA Advisory Council. She also served on the Board of Public Health Toastmasters and as a Bilingual Volunteer Mediator at Dispute Resolution Services of North Texas, Inc. She enjoys reading in Spanish to her seven year old son, Diego, and spending time with her husband, Fernando.

Celina’s most recent honors include being selected for the 2015 US/Spain Council’s Young Leaders Program. The US/Spain Council’s Young Leaders Program brings together emerging American leaders from across the nation who represent various sectors of the economy and government.  The goal of this is to expose the participants to the social, cultural, economic and political realities of contemporary Spain in order to foster better bilateral relations between Spain and the United States. She was also nominated for the 2015 Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber La Cima Latina Leadership Award in the Government/Education category for her civic engagement with students.

Celina received a Bachelor of Arts in Chicano/Latino Studies from California State University, Long Beach. She also attended Texas Woman’s University and received a Master of Arts in Government and a Master of Business Administration. She is a proud graduate of Leadership America, Leadership Texas, Las Comadres Para Las Americas Texas Public Policy & Civic Engagement Program, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality Leadership Institute, and from The Women’s Campaign School at Yale University.

If you are interested in more information on how you can help us turn Tarrant County and Texas blue, please contact me at celinavasquezsd9@gmail.com follow me on Facebook for happenings with the State Democratic Executive Committee https://www.facebook.com/VasquezSDEC9.

See Celina’s political opinion on our website, www.nuestravozdetc.com.