Andrea Villaseñor-Perry, MSW, has served as a longtime advocate for children and families and worked in policy, program development and management, both as a professional and volunteer for over 30 years. A graduate of UC Berkeley with a MSW from San Jose. State University, she began her career in Santa Clara County as a policy analyst for Supervisor Dianne McKenna (1989-1995) and assisted in the initiation of several countywide efforts designed to improve conditions for children and families.
Beginning in 1990, Andrea was an active parent volunteer in the San Jose. Unified School District for over a decade. As co-chair of the Community Alliance for a Responsible School System (CARES), a parent / community group, Andrea led efforts to increase parental involvement and respect for diversity in the school community and worked with CARES and elected officials to successfully secure state and local monies to fund childcare. She was honored by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (1997) and by former State Superintendent of Education, Delaine Eastin, for her work in support of public education.
In 1997, she began working in the County’s’ Public Health Department, where she helped initiate a broad-based community collaborative to launch the Department’s first Violence Prevention Program. The Violence Prevention Program advocated for effective violence prevention policies and strategies which addressed firearm violence, alcohol-related violence, media violence, and school violence. In 2000, Andrea received a “Pillar of the Community Award” from the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission for her “dedication and outstanding service to the county community.”
A former County Human Relations Commissioner, Andrea has served as the Executive Director of Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN) and as an executive manager at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. In 2007, she was asked to serve as Vice-Chair of the Jim McEntee Legacy Committee Art Project. Together with Ann McEntee, Andrea helped to spearhead the completion of the McEntee Memorial Art Project which was dedicated on the County Plaza at 70 West Hedding on May 7, 2010.
As a member of the Friends of Human Relations Board (FHR) for the past twelve years, Andrea currently volunteers as the main organizer for the annual McEntee Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser held each year at MACLA in downtown San Jose. Sha has been married to her husband, Sandy Perry, an affordable housing advocate, for over 43 years, and they have one daughter, Christina Villaseñor Perry, an educator, who lives and works in S.F. with her husband Ben Swanson.