Juan Benitez

Dr. Juan M. Benitez is the son of immigrants from Mexico and a product of public schools from kindergarten through his doctoral studies. He earned his Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). With over 25 years of experience as an educator, he is a professor at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and serves as the Executive Director for the university's Center for Community Engagement (CCE). In his role at the CCE, he leads various community-based initiatives and has helped raise over $3 million for regional projects. Benitez was first elected to the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022.