Marisa Perez - Board of Trustees

Marisa Perez
Trustee Area 4

Marisa Perez

Marisa Perez was elected to the Cerritos College Board of Trustees in November 2012. She was re-elected in November 2020. She represents Trustee Area 4, which includes Hawaiian Gardens and portions of the cities of Lakewood, Bellflower, Cerritos, and Long Beach. Perez has held the positions of Board President, Board Vice President, and Clerk.

Perez serves as a transportation policy advisor to a Los Angeles County Metro board member and the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, as well as a former White House advisor to President George W. Bush.

Perez serves in various capacities within the communities served by Cerritos College. She is on the Board of Directors for the Esther Lindstrom Elementary School PTA, Mayfair Baseball Boosters, Lakewood Little League, and the Cerritos College Foundation. She is also a Girl Scouts leader in the Bellflower Hollymount Service Unit.

Perez is active in various community college leadership roles in California. She was elected to represent the 72 community college district governing boards as a member of the California Community College Trustee (CCCT) Board in 2017 and currently serves as President-Elect. The CCCT Board takes positions on and formulates education policy issues that come before the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, the State Legislature, and other relevant state-level boards and commissions. She also represents the CCCT Board on Chancellor’ Eloy Oakley’s EEO & Diversity Advisory Committee. In 2018, Perez was awarded the 2018 Champion of Equity Award by the Campaign for College Opportunity and the National Organization of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

Perez holds a Masters of Public Policy degree from USC and a B.S. in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University. She recently completed a certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University. She lives in Lakewood, where her children attend schools within the Bellflower Unified school district.