Jorge Savala

About Jorge

• Both of my parents are immigrants from Mexico—they met while working as migrant farmworkers in California and I grew up living in one of these migrant farm labor camps.
• My mother won a lawsuit against the owner of the migrant camp due to the unfit living conditions and our family was able to move to a rural area of Santa Cruz, California.
• In high school, I became active in protest movements and advocating for various causes, which was my first introduction to social justice and making a difference.
• I started attending Cabrillo College, but had to drop out when my parents lost their jobs so that I could help support them.
• Got my certification in computer repair and simultaneously started working as a student services coordinator—by the time I was 21, I had become the director of two computer training schools.
• Moved to Florida for a few years and worked as a career coach and job placement specialist for a welfare transition organization.
• After moving back to Santa Cruz, I started getting more involved in community development and even helped start a human services campaign in the neighborhood I grew up in.
• I am now the community outreach director for the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks.