About Wendy
Wendy Carrillo has spent her career advocating for educational opportunity, access to quality healthcare, living wage jobs and social justice. She supports quality debt free college, health care for all, environmental justice, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and creating high wage jobs in California.
An award-winning journalist, Wendy has a distinguished career as a radio and digital host, writer and producer. For ten years, she was host and executive producer of “Knowledge is Power,” a community based radio program on Los Angeles Power 106fm, where topics ranging from access to higher education and ending the school to prison pipeline to environmental justice and political transparency where discussed with elected officials, community leaders and stakeholders.
Most recently she was a co-founder of Reported.ly, an award winning social media start-up covering human rights, global conflict and social movements.
Wendy Carrillo previously served as part of the communications team that supported organizing efforts for long term care workers at SEIU ULTCW (which is now part of SEIU Local 2015). Her work included fighting for fair wages for caregivers who provide seniors and people with disabilities the dignity to stay in their homes as well as better working conditions and staffing ratios for nursing home workers. During her tenure at SEIU ULTCW, Wendy had the privilege of working at the local and state levels on behalf of caregivers for healthcare for all, wage increases, immigration reform and protecting families during the foreclosure crisis.
Wendy came to this country as an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador when she was a young child. Her parents taught her to work hard and to be committed to the community that helped raise her. Wendy became a U.S. citizen in her early 20s.
As a community advocate, Wendy Carrillo was recognized as “Woman of the Year” by former State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero and as a “Distinguished Woman” by Congresswoman Judy Chu. She’s been presented numerous recognitions for her community service from the City of the Los Angeles and LAUSD. She currently sits on the advisory board of Vision to Learn, a non-profit that has provided over 45,000 students in need with free glasses to advance their education.
Wendy Carrillo grew up in Boyle Heights and City Terrace and is a proud graduate of local public schools including Harrison Elementary, El Sereno Middle School and Roosevelt High. She is a graduate of East Los Angeles College and Cal State Los Angeles, where she earned her BA and USC, where she earned her Master’s Degree.