Yolanda Bernal Samano

Yolanda is a proud member of the Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep. Her oldest son attends the first grade. Since joining Fuerza she has been an avid participant in getting other parents involved by strengthening their voice around the achievement gap and access to quality education. She was part of the Fuerza reauthorization team, an active member of the Innovates Parent leader group as well as the Santa Clara County Parent Coalition. She currently works with the federal government managing their federal properties. She has worked for General Services Administration since 2004.

She attended San Jose State University for her undergraduate degree and graduate degree. She holds a BS on Sociology concentration in Criminology, with minors in Spanish and Mexican-American Studies. Furthering her education with a Master in Counselor Education writing a thesis on how undocumented students could search for resources in their community to fund their higher educational goals. Her passions include speaking to first-generation College students and demystifying college.