Occupation- State Senator - Legislative District 29

Member Since- 2001

Linda’s Legislative Achievements-

First elected to office in 2000 to serve District 29; House Minority Whip 2003-2004; House Assistant Minority Leader 2005-2006; Senate Minority Whip 2009-2010

Professional Experience-

Linda serves as Community Relations Coordinator for La Frontera Arizona, Tucson. She has been employed and worked for the center since 1991 and is responsible for pursuing funding opportunities for programs, collaborating with other agencies and providers to ensure optimum services for children and adults, and for promoting La Frontera Center to the community. Ms. Lopez has also served as Clinical Supervisor for Child/Family Center, responsible for overseeing all aspects of daily operations of the Child/Family Center to including personnel management, program development and implementation for a variety of children with special needs, provision of counseling services for children and parents/guardians, and review of financial operations. Prior to this she served as Child/Family Specialist which required direct contact with a variety of special needs children, including developmentally delayed and emotionally and behaviorally disturbed. She developed treatment plans, maintained client records, counseled children and parents/guardians, conducted home visits, and collaborated with staff of cooperating agencies.

Personal & Family-

Linda was born in September 1948. She and her brother Terry spent their formative years growing up in Indiana. In 1964 her family moved to the San Francisco Bay area where Linda attended University of California at Berkeley. In 1973, she moved to Tucson. As the children grew up Linda returned to college. She is married to her wonderful husband Rudy and their blended family includes 4 sons, Aaron, (Charla) Roland, (Claudia) Bryan and Jason and two beautiful daughters, Toni (Michael) and Bobbi (Frank). Their family also includes 11 grandsons, age 22 to newborn - Jordan, Roland Jr., Kyle, Quinten, Dylan, Isayah, Jayden, Io, Riley, Brady and Luca. She was a foster parent for 10 years for 44 foster children who had been abused and neglected. Many of the children had special needs, including schizophrenia, learning disabilities, depression, developmental delays and behavior disorders.

In 2001, Linda won a seat at the House of Representatives for District 29. She is humbled and honored to serve the district and the people of the great state of Arizona. Ms. Lopez has an extraordinary capacity for hard work and enjoys serving the public. She has a great passion for children and education. Linda was a member of the Sunnyside School Board for 18 years .As one can well imagine Ms. Lopez is a highly pivotal figure in her community and district

Education-

•B.A., University of Arizona, Women’s Studies, Psychology, minor, 1990, 15 units of graduate credit toward M.A. in History, 1991.

•University of California, Berkeley – 1966 to 1968

Academic Honors-

Dean’s List, Phi Beta Kappa and National Golden Key Honor Society

Awards-

Among the many awards Linda has received are-

1996 NOW Woman of Courage1996 Arizona Art Advocate

1998 YWCA Woman on the Move Award

2000 Noche de la Estrella Serenata de Honor

2003 Arizona School Boards Association Legislator of the Year

2003 Arizona Human Rights Fund Unsung Hero

2004 Sunnyside School District Hall of Fame Award

2005 Distinguished Service to Exceptional Children

2006 National Association of Social Workers Elected Official of the Year

2006 Arizona School Boards Association Legislator of the Year for 2005

2008 A.T. Still University Crystal Award for dental services for adults with developmental disabilities

2008 Harriett Tubman Award

2009 Legislator of the Year for Arizona Community Health Services

2009 EMERGE Woman of the Year

2011 Friends of Cities and Towns

2012 Governor’s Arts Award Panel

2012 Straight but Not Narrow- Most Supportive Public Figure 2012

2012 2012 Hero of Arizona Cities and Towns

Associations-

Ms. Lopez serves on and has served on numerous boards and is a member of many organizations, including

•Chair, Board of Directors ,Center for Women Policy Studies,

•Member, National Association of Professional Women

•Advisory Board Member, Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy

•Executive Ambassador to the US-Asia Investment and Business Expo

•Member, Governing body of the Arizona Virtual Academy

•Sunnyside School Board Member, 1986-2002, 2005 to 2006

•Parents as Teachers, 1998 to 2010. Advisory Committee member

•Arizona Schools Board Association, 1991 to 2002, 2005 to 2006. Served as President in 2001

•Arizona Hispanic – Native American School Board Members Caucus. 1987 to 2002. 2005 to 2006. Served as president in 1994

•Council of Urban Boards of Education, 1992 – 2002, 2005 to 2006. Served as chair (2002)

•National Hispanic Caucus of School Board Members, 1988 to 2002 – present - President 1999 – 2000.

•Juvenile Services Coordinating Council, 2000 – present. Member

•National Organization for Women

•Arizona Women’s Political Caucus

•NAACP

•American Association of University Women

•Arizona Compassion and Choices

•Planned Parenthood

•LGBTQ Behavioral Health Consortium of Southern Arizona

•Business and Professional Women’s Association

•Los Descendientes of Tucson

•Tucson Sister Cities

•Co-Chair Governor’s Task Force on Preventing Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs…..2005 to present

•NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected Officials)

Leadership Development-

2004 Flemming Fellow

2005 Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Government Executives, Fannie Mae Foundation

2005 Center for Women Policy Studies Foreign Policy Institute for Women Legislators