Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Barbosa.
Rachel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
There are many labels I can use to describe me that are part of my story so far… poor welfare kid, homeless, teen mother, successful Latina, grandmother, widow.
My story begins with my humble, challenging upbringing by a single mother of four young children. I knew the local welfare office well but also knew I would not live in those conditions as an adult. I credit my mother for finding the right support network through church and community who helped us with housing, food, transportation, clothes and financial assistance. The style of resiliency, problem-solving and compassionate social assistance is what has built the foundation of how I live my daily life.
By the time I graduated high school, I had not one but two children. I got married in my senior year and divorced shortly after graduation. In my young adult years, I had a full-time job, a part-time job, I was in college and I volunteered in the community and in local political campaigns.
I met my second husband while volunteering in the community where he worked as a Sheriff’s Deputy.
Over the following 20 years, we both grew in our careers. He promoted to Sergeant and I entered into local government, staffing two very prominent, influential and successful elected officials. I now serve as the city manager in a local city, and sadly my husband passed away six months before he was to retire from his 30 years career with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.
I continue to serve my community with compassion and a dedication to making things right in a city that was mismanaged for quite a while.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road, so far, has definitely not been smooth, but the kinks and obstacles have been manageable because I’ve had an incredible and generous support network. I’ve learned to value my experiences and strengths which makes me a better person and appreciative of the good things in life.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I serve as the City Manager for one of the smaller cities in Los Angeles County – the 22nd smallest city out of 88. Small, but mighty! That makes for a close-knit community who prides themselves on our quality youth sports programs, senior programs and community events. We have a hardworking mayor and staff who strive to make this City a safe, beautiful and vibrant place to live and work in. We are located along one of the heaviest traveled corridors in the United States – the 60 freeway – and nestled between Whittier Narrows County Park and the San Gabriel Valley Riverbed. We’re experiencing a leadership transition that has exposed many areas of weakness and vulnerability in the City’s structure and reputation, but my team is committed to addressing and fixing the issues and moving this City forward towards economic longevity and sustainability.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think overall we’ve been pretty lucky, or fortunate! As all cities have been grappling with finding the best way to respond to the COVID19 pandemic in terms of public safety and employee safety while still providing crucial and essential city government services, our city has been pretty fortunate. We were able to respond rather quickly to the government shutdown and participated in a strong network of regional cities who generously connected on a regular basis to share information and coordinate our responses. We created a way to call and check in on our seniors who are most vulnerable to the extreme effects of the coronavirus while maintaining a very active and timely social media presence so our residents had regular updates. In addition, since our local economy is diverse in industries, we have not suffered as much as some cities have who are dependent on one major business tax contributor. All in all, I’d say we’re more fortunate than not.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1415 Santa Anita Avenue
South El Monte, CA 91733 - Website: cityofsouthelmonte.org
- Phone: 626-579-6540
- Instagram: @southelmontecitygov
- Facebook: cityofsouthelmontegovernment
- Twitter: @citysem
Image Credit:
Bertha Hernandez, City Communications Coordinator
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