Meet the candidate
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About
Aurelio Salazar, Jr. was born in Ontario, Oregon to Aurelio P. Salazar of Weslaco, Texas and Raquel Sanchez Salazar of La Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico. His parents were farm workers working in the fields of Arizona, California, and Oregon. He has two older sisters Rita Maria Sotelo and Maria Raquel Sanchez Salazar, Esq. who were born in Oregon and Idaho and now reside in San Antonio, Texas. Aurelio and his wife have over 20 years of public service and volunteering in the community. They have a four-year-old son Joaquin Aurelio Salazar and two year old daughter Sofia Raquel Salazar.
Overcoming early challenges
At the age of six, Aurelio’s father passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on Christmas Eve. Two years later, Aurelio’s mother and older sister Rita moved to Salinas, California. His oldest sister stayed in Oregon to attend Willamette University. Aurelio attended Bardin Elementary School and El Sausal Junior High School. During his eighth grade year Aurelio’s mother passed away after a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis and he was raised by his extended family, Aunt Stella, Delia, and Irma.
Educational Career
Aurelio attended Hartnell Community College where he served as Student Body President and Student Trustee and received his Associate of Arts Degree in Transfer Studies. He attended and graduated from San Diego State University (SDSU) with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from the Mexican American Studies Department. While at SDSU he was active in student government and numerous student organizations. In 2019, Aurelio graduated from San José State University with a Masters Degree in Mexican American Studies with an emphasis in Ethnic Studies. Aurelio eventually plans on teaching in the California Community College system.
Professional Training
Aurelio believes in lifelong learning, as part of his professional training and development he received a Certificate of Completion from California State University Monterey Bay – Extended Studies Department in Leadership, Education And Leadership (LEAD) as part of the Community Leadership Project (CLP). The Community Leadership Project was a joint leadership training effort led by three of California’s largest foundations (William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation) to build the next generation of nonprofit leaders by preparing them with the skills to help build sustainable organizations with three key characteristics: resiliency, leadership, adaptive capacity, and financial stability.
Qualifications
Since 2015, Aurelio has served on the Hartnell Community College Board of Trustees, Area 2. In 2017, he was selected as Vice President and since December 2018 he has served as Board President. Over the last five years he has served on the Audit Committee and has worked with the college administration in making sure that Hartnell operates within a balanced budget.
Thank you
Thank you for visiting us early in this campaign, we will continue to update this page with additional content so that you can get to know Aurelio a little bit better.