Today is my father’s birthday. Happy birthday daddy! He’s an immigrant from Mexico who started working at the age of 10 as a panadero in Boyle Heights and is on the eve of retirement as a Maintenance Engineer at a water reclamation plant at the age of 65. He’s a proud product of Garfield High school, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, and East LA College.

Growing up, going to college was never a question, it was my father’s expectation of me and my sister.  He taught us that education would give us power over our own lives and the ability to better serve others. It’s not surprising then that both my sister and I have dedicated our careers and lives to expanding educational opportunity for underrepresented communities.

My dad is a man of service from running the church carnivals back in the day, serving on countless school site councils, serving on the Dollars for Scholars board, to hitting the pavement today for local political candidates he believes in. He helps raise his six grandchildren and teaches continues his lessons in faith, service, and the value of education.

As a tribute to my dad on his 65th birthday, I ask all of you to stand up for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program – my dad is a living example of how immigrants make this country great and why opportunities for them to go to school and work benefit all of us.

Call your representatives in Congress, call the President, tweet at the President #DefendDACA.

Happy birthday daddy – like you taught us, we won’t stop fighting for the marginalized, the poor, and those without voice ❤️✊🏽

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Audrey Dow

Audrey Dow grew up in East Los Angeles. Like her parents before her, she attended James A. Garfield High School. Seeing potential in Audrey, her parents, counselors, and teachers at Garfield worked together to ensure she went to college.
Today, Audrey is the Senior Vice President of The Campaign for College Opportunity, a statewide policy and advocacy organization working to ensure more Californians have the opportunity to go to college and succeed. She has broad responsibilities for leading the organizations’ robust research agenda, strategic media and communications, and coalition building.
Audrey has over a decade of experience in the public and nonprofit sectors where she has trained Latinas to take on leadership roles in the public sector and served as a Gubernatorial appointee.
Audrey received a BS in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California and a Master’s in Public Affairs with an emphasis in Domestic Policy, and a certificate in Urban Policy, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
She serves on the Parent Board of the Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena and is the California State Senate’s appointee to the California Awards for Innovation in Higher Education Committee. Audrey is the proud mother of four little Californians.

Latest posts by Audrey Dow (see all)

• Defendiendo DACA: Deseo de Cumpleaños - September 2, 2017
• Defending DACA: Birthday Wish - September 2, 2017