Efren was born in North Hollywood, CA where he lived until his sister was born a year later. His family then moved to Mexico City but, wanting to find more opportunities, moved to Sonoma County when he was still young.
Efren began attending Roseland Elementary School in the first grade and continued attending public schools until graduating from Santa Rosa High School. Upon graduation, he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley. There he worked as a school assistant and researcher to put himself through college. The environment and economics had always been of particular interest to him so it was natural for him to choose a major in Environmental Economics and Policy.
While attending Berkeley, Efren interned with the United States Environmental Protection Agency where he was able to put his college classes to practical use. He worked with a team of eight within the Air Toxics Division Team in Web site construction. Through this work he prototyped charts and graphs on Bay Area air quality and emissions as well as studied Air Monitoring and Geographical Information Systems data. He was also a research fellow in the Summer Research Opportunity Program in water economics and worked for the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley where he provided support for public health research projects in substance use and misuse.
Upon graduating from Berkeley, Efren moved back to Sonoma County to be close to his family. He began working as a project coordinator for the Sonoma County Economic Development Board designing policies and programs to help support the economic benefits of responsible environmental business practices and provided resources to enable businesses to implement these measures. He managed the Sonoma County Business Environmental Alliance in coordinating public-private partnerships to educate fellow businesspeople regarding the bottom line profits obtained from best environmental practices.
Throughout his life Efren had a vested interest in politics. So when the opportunity arose to work for CA State Assemblyman Joe Nation, he jumped at the chance. While working for Joe Nation's office, he served as the liaison between the district and Assemblyman Nation. He attended meetings of local government and private interest groups and kept the Assemblyman informed on district affairs and issues as well as constituent inquiries and concerns. He also assisted in research, public discussion and drafting of legislation and amendments.
From there, Efren progressed into the banking industry where he became Education and Government Relations Manager for Redwood Credit Union. Efren is charged with developing and implementing credit union and financial education initiatives and seminars for RCU Members and the local communities. Additionally, Efren organizes outreach efforts to the Hispanic and youth communities. Efren is also responsible for the development of government relations strategies, specifically in developing and implementing advocacy and educational approaches to support and advance the Credit Union interests. In 2007, Efren was recognized by the North Bay Business Journal as being one of the 40 business and community leaders under 40.
Community involvement and public service has always been of particular value to Efren. As a young boy, his family lived below the poverty level in a distressed neighborhood. Through the help of Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County, his family was able to break the poverty cycle. Efren vowed he would dedicate himself to public service and help those in need just like his family was helped many years ago.
Efren currently serves on the Santa Rosa Gang Prevention Task Force, Health Action Sonoma County, the Board of Directors for the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin, Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County, and is President of the Board of the Southwest Community Health Center. Efren also served on the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and enjoys volunteering opportunities including Youth Business Week-California, mentoring with the Marin Education Fund, United Way Week of Caring and Bi-National Health Week.
Although his volunteer work and candidacy for Supervisor keep him busy, in his free time, Efren enjoys martial arts, playing sports and spending time with his family.
