LINDA LOPEZ
Arizona State Representative

Linda Lopez serves as State Representative in the Arizona Legislature in Phoenix. She was first elected in November 2000 and has served 4 two year terms. She is a member of the Appropriations, Health, Rules, and Joint Legislative Budget Committees. She also serves on the Legislative Council. Linda, running without opposition, will be elected to the Arizona Senate in November 2008.

Linda is employed as Community Relations Coordinator at Arizona’s largest community behavioral health provider, La Frontera Center Inc., in Tucson, doing fundraising, grant writing, and community networking. Prior to this position she was the Clinical Supervisor of La Frontera’s Child/Family Center where a milieu of therapeutic services was provided for children birth to age 18 with emotional, behavioral and developmental delays and their families.

Linda graduated from the University of Arizona in 1990 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Womens Studies and Psychology. She also attended the University of California at Berkeley. Linda graduated from the U of A with honors including: Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Beta Phi, National Golden Key Honor Society and the Dean’s List.

Her priorities at the Legislature include children’s issues, health care, education at all levels, women’s rights issues and end of life concerns.

Linda is currently a member of these organizations:
* National Organization for Women,
* Arizona Women’s Political Caucus,
* Parents as Teachers Advisory Committee,
* United Way First Focus on Kids Impact Council,
* Juvenile Services Coordinating Council,
* NAACP,
* Jobs for Arizona Graduates Board Member,
* WiLL (Women Legislators Lobby) Regional Director,
* Planned Parenthood,
* Compassion and Choices Arizona,
* American Association of University Women,
* Business and Professional Women’s Association,
* Healthy Families Advisory Board Member,
* Los Descendientes de Tucson, and
* Tucson Sister Cities
She also served as an elected member of the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board for 18 years. During her tenure as a school board member she held several state and national leadership positions including: Chair of the Council of Urban School Boards, President of the Arizona School Boards Association, President of the National Hispanic Caucus of School Board Members, and National School Boards Association board member.

Among the many awards Linda has received are:

* NOW Woman of Courage,
* The Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities Award – Commitment to Working towards One Community for All Arizonans,
* Arizona Art Advocate,
* YWCA Women on the Move,
* Noche de las Estrellas Serenata de Honor,
* Arizona Human Rights Fund Award – Unsung Hero,
* Arizona School Boards Association State Representative of the Year,
* The Harriet Tubman Award,
* The A. T. Still University Crystal Award,
* Tech 10 Legislator Award,
* National Association of Social Workers Elected Official of the Year,
* Planned Parenthood Defender of Choice,
* Distinguished Service to Exceptional Children Award, and
* Arizona Parents for Education Golden Apple Award

Linda has participated in many leadership development programs including the Flemming Fellow program, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Government Executives, the Center for Women Policy Studies Foreign Policy Institute for Women Legislators, and the Center’s GlobalPOWER program.

Linda has three grown children, Aaron, Toni and Bobbi, and is grandmother to Kyle and Dylan. She was foster mother over a period of ten years to 44 children who had been abused or neglected.