Lourdes Quevedo is excited to represent all UTLA members. At CSU, Sacramento, she got involved in MEChA, and soon was a key part of state-wide conversations about how to push back on the anti-immigrant policy attacks of the 1990s, specifically Props 187 & 227. While completing CSUN’s credential program, she started working for LAUSD as a Local-99 teacher’s assistant at Shirley Avenue Elementary. Due to the Class Size Reduction program, there was an elementary teacher shortage, and Lourdes applied for an emergency credential and started her teaching career at Nobel Ave Elementary. After completing her Science credential, she became a high school science teacher, and, as science itself has come under increasing attack, Lourdes has been a powerful advocate. As she has been teaching, she has built a family, and is a proud LAUSD parent.

Lourdes has been teaching for over 25 years, across a wide variety of schools, including comprehensive high schools (San Fernando and Monroe), pilot schools (Chavez ASE), and Community Schools (Monroe). She has served in roles as ELD coordinator, department chair, School Site Council member, co-chair of the LSLC, and a CAT team leader. Building on these experiences, inspired by the historic 2019 strike, and after teaching during the pandemic, Lourdes decided to run for chapter chair and won.

In her role as chapter chair at Monroe, Lourdes used her skills as a leader and organizer to build super-majority involvement, democracy, and action on many different issues. Within her first month as chapter chair, Monroe was a vibrant media and organizing hub in the victory against market-based distribution of school funds in 2021 and in the 2023 solidarity strike. In an effort to collaborate with fellow chapter chairs, Lourdes became a Valley West Steering member and cluster leader. She worked with fellow steering members to develop trainings for Valley West chapter chairs to empower them as contract enforcers that soon became city-wide trainings. In recognition of her work, Lourdes won the Valley West Unsung Hero Award at the 2023 UTLA Leadership Conference. At Monroe, Lourdes helped build a vibrant and powerful LSLC and trained hundreds of other schools on doing the same at the 2024 Leadership Conference. She also organized & presented at staff meetings and community town halls when Monroe applied for and was accepted as a Community School. With this status, Monroe has led the way in super-majority engagement with all interest holders, including involving thousands of students in surveys and school direction conversations, hundreds of parents and caregivers in surveys and school direction conversations, parent leadership trainings, LSLC Roberts Rules trainings, and community walks against the ICE raids. And when LAUSD tried to stifle Community Schools autonomies, Lourdes was the key leader of the School Board resolution that passed confirming that Community Schools have 100% control over their professional development. This involved grieving, organizing, moving School Board members, and presenting at the School Board.

When a vacancy in the Valley West BOD was declared, Lourdes ran and won the seat as the UTLA NEA Director for Valley West. In this role, she has been the Immigrant Justice Team Lead for the area, been a trainer, recruiter, and supervisor for the Rapid Response Network against ICE raids, a mutual aid organizer during the ICE crisis delivering food for families across all of the Community Schools in the Valley, worked with CHIRLA, Reclaim Our Schools LA and other organizations on community patrols and training, and was an elected CFT delegate in March 2025. Lourdes has been a member of the expanded endorsement team for BD 1, BD 3, and BD 5, and a member of the expanded bargaining team.
Lourdes brings powerful experience to the role of treasurer. She has been critical to developing and overseeing the budget for one of the largest schools in LAUSD, Monroe High School. She has been key to developing and overseeing the budget of the largest area within UTLA, Valley West. And, most importantly, because of her extensive organizing experience at school site, area, community, and union-wide levels, Lourdes knows how to work in collaboration with others to develop budgets that are statements of values and principles, investing in organizing, representation, the fight for salary, healthcare, and better working conditions, and the fight against the right-wing. Lourdes is not just ready to lead — she already is.