MEET JULIA RUEDAS
Ms. Julia Ruedas is the eldest of five siblings. She is the daughter of Mrs. Julia Ruedas and the late Mr. Ernesto Ruedas. Both of her parents, hardworking immigrants, came from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life and instilled in her the importance of discipline, hard work, determination, and the value of education and giving back to the community that raised her.
Julia is a lifelong resident of the City of El Monte and a product of the El Monte City School District. Interestingly, the same district that saw her grow up is now the district she serves as a school board member and a staunch advocate for ALL students. Ms. Ruedas attended Shirpser and Gidley Schools and graduated from Rosemead High School. She continued her education and became the first in her family to go to college and attended Azusa Pacific University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Leadership. She then obtained a Master's Degree in Public Administration and currently is a Doctoral Degree candidate at the University of La Verne.
In her day job, Ms. Ruedas serves as a Policy Analyst for the County of Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Medical Center Foundation. Her research efforts focus on a vision of community health access and equity. She is well-versed on health advocacy and tackling inequities through the development of systems, programs, community engagement campaigns and policies that empower vulnerable populations to achieve and maintain their best health. In addition, Ms. Ruedas serves as an Instructor with WestEd, a nation-wide research, development, and services agency that promotes educational excellence. Ms. Ruedas focus here is on the importance of Early Childhood Education and Development.
In her spare time, Ms. Ruedas serves as a mentor to many young ladies that are first time generation college students like herself. She meets with them regularly and talks about the importance of higher education, short/long term goal setting, dressing for success, interviews, finances and time management.
Two and a half years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Ms. Ruedas was quick to jump into action and was a part of multiple food distributions. Ms. Ruedas also spearheaded her own food distribution here in El Monte. She knew the need was dire for families with food insecurities and she answered the call. She even brought her younger siblings Giovanny and Brenda to help.
In the area of mental health with COVID-19, Ms. Ruedas serves as a SPIRITT Family Services board member. Here too, her expertise has been priceless for families. She routinely refers families experiencing issues of anxiety, depression, loss of life and suicidal ideations that have become too prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, Ms. Ruedas also brought the Community Health Initiative team at LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation where she collaborated and volunteered with the Emergency Resources Association (ERA) in their yearly Christmas Food Basket and Toy Distribution Program for over 500 families. Hard to reach and highly impacted families from El Monte and South El Monte received Personal Protection Equipment and COVID-19 resource information.
This year Ms. Ruedas was named the 2022 Woman of the Year in the category of Public Service by State Assemblymember Blanca Rubio and the 2022 Citizen Volunteer of the Year by the El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce. She is an ambitious, compassionate, courteous, generous, visionary, a great leader and an amazing role model. If there is a need, Julia Ruedas fills it with an open heart and a smile on her face.