This November UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education student Monique Limón was elected to the California State Assembly to represent the 37th district. Limón is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of Education, researching Education Policy under advisor Dr. Sharon Conley.
Limón was raised in the Santa Barbara area and has spent six years on the Santa Barbara Unified Board of Education. At UCSB, Limon served as assistant director of the McNair Scholars Program. Previously, she was involved as the Graduate Division’s director for diversity recruitment and retention. Through GGSE, Limón participated in Proyecto/Project HEROES as well.
Limón will call upon the skills she has learned at GGSE during her term as an Assemblymember. “As a researcher and scholar, the process of thinking through issues by collecting data, re-framing concepts and questions, looking for trends, and identifying best practices is something that I take with me to my new role as Assemblymember of California's 37th District,” Limón says. “I believe that the skills I have gained as a doctoral student and educator are skills that I will use to help me approach the many issues that Assemblymembers tackle in our jobs.”
Limón has already been appointed assistant majority whip of the California Assembly by Speaker Anthony Rendon. The whip assists the speaker in mobilizing votes for major issues and facilitating the process of floor sessions, and traditionally a promising new Assembly member is appointed to the position.