Michele Siqueiros, a Los Angeles native, has spent her career creating systemic change in California. As president of the Campaign for College Opportunity from 2008 to 2024, she transformed the organization from a startup into California's most influential higher education advocacy organization. Her strategic approach combining research, advocacy, and community engagement led to historic policy reforms and the allocation of more than $6 billion in state funding for higher education.

Siqueiros has been a trusted voice and bridge-builder across Los Angeles's diverse communities. She serves on the boards of highly regarded organizations including The California Endowment, Pitzer College, and others. Her effectiveness in driving systemic change has been recognized through numerous awards, including the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)’s Excellence in Community Service Award, and being named Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Drawing from her L.A. roots for impact

Michele Siqueiros grew up seeing her hardworking mother, an immigrant and seamstress, struggle with economic and personal hardship. The first in her family to go to college, Siqueiros initially thought she was lucky to get there. As she got older, she realized it was the support of family, mentors, programs, and policies – including affirmative action, financial aid, and even the volunteers who helped her fill out her FASFA forms – that made her path to college possible. When California voted to ban affirmative action in public universities, Siqueiros was attending UCLA on an affirmative action fellowship. She recognized that the path to college would be more difficult for the next generation of students and has since dedicated her career to fighting for fair opportunity and working toward a more just and equitable society where every person - regardless of their zip code, race/ethnicity, or income - can reach their full potential.

Michele has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies with Honors in Chicano/a Studies from Pitzer College and a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She was a part of the Aspen Institute Presidential Community College Fellowship class of 2018.

Work at The Campaign for College Opportunity and work in L.A. communities

Over her 20-year tenure at The Campaign for College Opportunity, she has championed policies and initiatives that have yielded tangible results, including clearer transfer pathways between community colleges and the CSU system, a public community college scorecard to make student progress and success metrics transparent, and crucial legislation promoting student success at community colleges. 

‍Siqueiros built a strong, independent, and influential organization that helped transform and strengthen higher education in California. She raised over $35 million dollars, assembled a team of experts and leaders in the field, championed major budget appropriations, secured historic higher education legislation, and established a broad and influential network of over 12,000 coalition supporters. Her leadership resulted in victories benefitting thousands of students, greater investment in state financial aid programs including the expansion of state aid for undocumented students, and millions more in state funding for the state’s colleges and universities to expand the number of available seats for students and to improve student graduation rates.

In February 2024 Siqueiros received the prestigious James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. In 2023, she was recognized by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund with an Excellence in Community Service Award, and was named Woman of the Year by the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2019, and given the Distinguished Alumni Award by Pitzer College in 2018. 

Siqueiros is deeply dedicated to Los Angeles communities in both her professional and personal life. In addition to her aforementioned board membership at The California Endowment and Pitzer College, Siqueiros serves on the board of Community Coalition, and previously, the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles and Planned Parenthood Action Project of LA County. She was an appointee of the Governor on various statewide bodies.

The movement for local journalism in L.A.

Siqueiros is an effective spokesperson with an extensive network across the nonprofit, philanthropic and education sectors. She’ll take the innovative approach she used in higher education, bringing together unlikely allies – businesses, civil rights organizations, faith-based institutions, students – to create a powerful unified voice in support of local journalism for all Angelenos. You can find her first note as CEO of the L.A. Local News Initiative here.