Cypress provided Frances Marquez with a strong foundation for a successful life. She's running for City Council because she wants to make sure every community member has the same opportunity.
Frances and her family have called Cypress home since 1974. The quality education she received from Damron and Vessels Elementary, Lexington Junior High, and Cypress High School, enabled her to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from UCLA. She then went on to earn a Masters in Public Policy and a Doctorate in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University.
Now, she's an Associate Professor of Government at Gallaudet University, where she teaches deaf and hard-of-hearing students and helps them pursue careers in public service.
Frances has decades of experience in public service. She was the statewide director for a New Citizen Voter Registration Project in 1991 and has campaigned for candidates at the local, state, and national levels, including President Obama, President Clinton, and then Congressmember Xavier Becerra.
In 2010, she received a Congressional Fellowship from the American Political Science Association and worked with Congressman Mike Honda. She also served as the Legislative Director at the U.S. Capitol for Congressman Alan Lowenthal, where she developed policy positions and legislative initiatives in areas such as Labor, Trade, Manufacturing, Veterans, and Foreign Affairs.
While working with Congressman Lowenthal, Frances helped advocate for better access to health and child care for our veterans. She also worked closely with the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee to help secure funding for the STARBASE and Sunburst National Guard Youth Challenge Programs at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB). The STARBASE Program encourages fifth-grade students to study science and math and Sunburst helps youth who have dropped out of high school complete their GED at the JFTB in six months.
Frances resides in Cypress and enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Benito.