Robert Garcia

About Robert

• Born in Lima, Peru—when he was 5 years old, his family immigrated to Los Angeles in order to escape the violence and economic problems in Peru.
• Says he had a “typical immigrant experience”—he moved around a lot, struggled with the language barrier as a native Spanish speaker, and lived in a home with eight other people.
• Decided to go to college at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) and eventually went on to earn his master’s from University of Southern California (USC) and his doctorate from CSULB.
• He decided to come out as gay in his 20s and his family was very supportive; he’s since become a passionate supporter and advocate for LGBTQ rights.
• Became a United States citizen when he was 21 years old—says that was the defining moment of his life, giving him a sense of responsibility and belonging he had yet to experience.
• Was a professor for 10 years teaching courses on communication and public policy at USC, CSULB, and Long Beach City College.
• Started getting involved in local politics because he wanted to make a difference—was elected to the Long Beach City Council in 2009 and was unanimously elected as vice mayor of Long Beach in 2012.
• In 2014, he was elected mayor of Long Beach—his election broke several barriers, as he was the youngest, first openly gay, first Latino, and first bilingual mayor in the city’s history.