Where Are They Now? Omar Medina – Class of 1997

Alumni #WhereAreTheyNow Spotlight: Omar Medina – Class of 1997 (1st Graduating Class of EAHS)

Today we bring you an Alum with lots of firsts, Santa Rosa City Schools Trustee Omar Medina. He is part of the first graduating class of Elsie Allen High School, a first generation American, first from his family to graduate from High School and College, and was the first Student Body President of EAHS. He reflected how beautiful it was to be part of such a diverse school in the 90s but he also mentioned that his experience at EAHS sparked his interest in politics, democracy and governance. He saw first hand the inequities and misconceptions kids faced in part due to the geography, demographics and socio-economic conditions of the school’s population. He took these observations as he excelled through the Santa Rosa Junior College and then graduating from Sonoma State University.

If you are involved in the Sonoma County community, chances are you have witnessed first hand the passion and hard work Omar puts into community organizing and bringing a voice to our most vulnerable populations. In 2018, he was elected as the Area 4 Trustee to the Santa Rosa City Schools. He shared that “Serving as an elected official is a constant learning and educational experience, but I enjoy it immensely.” He also currently coordinates the work of UndocuFund for Fire Relief in Sonoma County, providing aid to undocumented families impacted by the North Bay Fires and most recently, the Kincade Fire.

He is a strong proponent for investing in our youth because it’s an investment in the future. He mentioned that he is grateful to all the donors who support and believe in the purpose of the EAHS Foundation, and he is incredibly grateful to see people coming together to bring much needed resources to the Elsie Allen community.

We asked him to share advice to incoming Freshman at Elsie Allen and he shared, “The choices you make during these next four years are critical to the direction your life takes. Your education is an investment in your future. Don’t let the privilege of a free public education go to waste, make the best of it, and it will pay off exponentially in your future.”

Trustee Medina, we salute you for your service and your constant hard work towards equity and bringing much needed resources to the communities that need it the most.