Maria Cristina Gomez Flores is a public leader and a pillar in the downtown and Willow Glen/San  Jose communities. She wants to see the Latino community, especially the monolingual immigrant  community who are the backbone of the California economy, thrive and seize the opportunities  they deserve. As a teacher, volunteer, and community leader, she pushes herself and the people  around her not to accept poverty or limited opportunities. She knows that as Latinas, we all  deserve opportunities to grow, feel challenged, and expand our networks to discover other worlds  and achieve human excellence. 

Maria Cristina grew up in Veracruz, Mexico, and left at a very young age to study and work in  Mexico City to support her mother. She became an elementary school teacher, and through her  fifteen years of professional teaching experience, she taught, led, and innovated in the public  schools she worked in Mexico City. She arrived in San Jose some years ago, and now with a  family, her daughter and her husband are her motors to continue looking for opportunities to  grow.  

Today, in her public role as a community leader, she wears many hats as a mentor, connector,  and cultural broker. She has held many official roles in the public education system in California,  including SELAC President in River Glen School, Member of the School Site Council in River  Glen School, Member of the SJUSD Voluntary Integration Planning Committee, a parent leader  with Innovate Public Schools, a volunteer at Sacred Heart Community Services in the Education 

Department, and she currently serves as the President of the Parent -Teacher Organization at  River Glen School. 

Maria Cristina is a leader in the political arena on issues related to public education as a Parent  Leader with Innovate Public Schools. She has been a founding parent leader in San Jose on  advocacy and community organizing efforts at the local and state level, with a coalition of parents  across the state. Her advocacy has resulted in the State awarding schools $8 billion for the  Expanded Learning Opportunity Program Grants, ensuring committee and subcommittee  hearings in the state legislature have language interpretation at the ready, and working with  Senator David Cortese on a multi-billion one-time statewide request for Mental Health Services  Act for county offices in California. Additionally, she was a key leader working with Mayor Sam  Liccardo and City staff on dedicating $2 million from the American Rescue plan to the San Jose  Public Library to provide high-quality tutoring to low-income students in San Jose. 

On a school site level, Maria Cristina has played a very important role in connecting and  advocating for the Latino community with the site administration. She is a true role model for  practicing democracy and holding our public systems accountable. Still, she is also weary and  adamant about building Latino leaders from the ground up. As such, Maria Cristina mentors,  agitates, and encourages the Latino community to rise to the occasion and empower themselves  and others.