Meet Magali
Dear Novato,
My parents moved to Marin County from Oaxaca, Mexico, and chose to raise a family in Novato with the hope that they would be able to provide my brothers and me with a better life. They worked hard to support my siblings and me as employees in the restaurant and housekeeping industries, and from my very youth emphasized the importance of hard work and gaining value from my educational opportunities.
As a child and young adult, I attended Lynwood Elementary School, Hill Middle School and Novato High School. Now, having been a resident of Novato for over 30 years, I can see how formative my experiences in the Novato Unified School District hallways truly were. Listening to the lessons and guidance of my teachers, staff and Junior ROTC Sergeants – I was taught the
values of integrity and personal discipline, as well as the importance of promoting service and equality within our community.
At the age of 15, I also had my very first touchpoints with civic engagement. As a youth leader for the Youth Leadership Institute I assisted in efforts to pass Marin County’s Alcohol Sponsorship Ordinance – an ordinance that nearly 20 years later continues to ensure that the Marin County Fair has no active promotion of alcohol consumption to our youth. My active work in our community has carried through to this very day – making the transition from a mentee to that of a mentor to students in our community with various community non-profits and organizations, including 10,000 Degrees, Rotary International and the Marin County Women’s Commission. I was also very recently moved into action during the campaign to save
Lynwood Elementary School from closure in 2020.
The impact that my upbringing through the community at Lynwood Elementary School had on my life to that point has been immeasurable. From supporting me as I translated important documents for my immigrant parents, to helping my parents themselves understand the
ongoings of parent teacher conferences – the staff at Lynwood helped me overcome the very unique challenges that a first-generation Mexican-American student and eventual college graduate would face. I believed it was important that this capacity could be sustained for the future of Novato in general.
During the Save Lynwood campaign, I mobilized the neighborhood surrounding Lynwood Elementary – going door to door to get petitions signed. I also advocated for bilingual communications to be transmitted to our community members regarding the potential closure of their school and amplified the voices of community members who sought to prevent that closure to the NUSD 7-11 Committee.
Our collective success in that effort proved to me that in order for the Novato Unified School District to thrive, we need to ensure that it conducts itself in a manner that is both fiscally responsible and does not forfeit the community values that we hold dear. We also need to prepare our students for the 21st century world by cultivating their talents, offering diverse opportunities, and protecting their mental health – something we most certainly cannot do alone.
Throughout my life, I have joined and built coalitions that are multi-generational, class diverse and representative. My campaign will reflect this and, if I am honored by your trust in me, so
will my tenure as School Board Trustee.
Together, we can do this.
