Draft:Paloma Aguirre

Paloma Aguirre is the Mayor of Imperial Beach, California, elected in November 2022.. Previously, she served as Imperial Beach City Council member for four years from 2018 to 2022.

Mayor Aguirre is also the San Diego representative on the California Coastal Commission

Early life and education
Aguirre was born in San Francisco, California. Aguirre resided with her parents in San Francisco until the age of seven, then moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, until the age of 21. Aguirre is of Mexican descent on both her parents side.

In 2001, she moved back to California to go to college and become a competitive bodyboarder. Mayor Aguirre went on to compete in various bodyboarding competitions in both Mexico and the U.S.

Aguirre graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) with a B.A. in Psychology. Additionally, she earned a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Brandman University and in 2015, she obtained a Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Career and advocacy
Aguirre worked as a community organizer helping low-income community members with issues on immigration and predatory lending. After moving to Imperial Beach and swimming in contaminated waters, Aguirre started volunteering with WILDCOAST, a coastal and marine conservation non-profit where she later worked for over 10 years as Coastal Marine Director. Aguirre is considered to be a leading advocate in the fight against sewage pollution in California.

In 2016, after graduating from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she was selected for the NOAA Sea Grant Knauss fellowship in Washington D.C. where she worked for U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

She is also the former Senior Program Officer for the Environment for the International Community Foundation where she oversaw environmental projects in Mexico and Latin America.

Personal Life
Aguirre lives in Imperial Beach with husband and two dogs, Dante and Dasha.