Vedamarie Alvarez Flores

Santa Maria resident and longtime educator and leader, Vedamarie Ruiz Alvarez Flores, said she is proud to represent Trustee Area 7, which contains significant portions of the City of Santa Maria.

Flores is a retired Santa Maria elementary school teacher and longtime teacher trainer who recently served a four-year term on the board of Santa Maria-Bonita Elementary School District. As a provisional appointee to the Santa Barbara County Board of Education, she will serve until November 2024, at which time a special election will be held, with the winner serving the last two years of Trustee Area 7’s term, until 2026.

Flores shared that she is honored to have the opportunity to continue “the meaningful journey” of helping students grow and schools thrive. As a Santa Maria native, Flores brings a wealth of deep-rooted experience and breadth of education knowledge to the role. She attended Cook Street Elementary, El Camino Jr High, Santa Maria High School, Allan Hancock College, and earned her BA in Spanish with minors in Physical Education and English from UCSB. She possesses a teaching credential, a bilingual credential, and received her Master of Arts from Pepperdine University with an emphasis on Multicultural Education and Leadership Administration. Flores said that while she is “technically” retired, she currently serves as a teacher supervisor for Cal Lutheran University’s resident teacher program, based in Santa Maria.

Flores is the mother of three daughters and Nana to seven grandchildren, all who have attended school in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. Flores enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.