Meet Johanna Lopez, the first Latina to serve on Orange County’s school board

Chantelle Navarro
·2 min read

For Johanna Lopez, serving the Latino community comes naturally to her.

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It’s something she has dedicated more than 20 years of her life to. But it didn’t start out that way.

She got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Puerto Rico, but when she first moved to Orlando from Aguadilla, she worked at a car wash and a fast-food restaurant.

Then she switched over to Colonial High School as a volunteer, substitute, then teacher in 1999.

“I taught Spanish-speaking classes, AP Spanish and 100% of my students achieved a “5,” she said.

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She became teacher of the year in 2017.

After that she said her students asked for better representation: a Puerto Rican voice to represent the ever-growing community.

“I did not run because I wanted to run. I ran because my students inspired me and said it’s time to run for school board,” Lopez said.

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That’s when she became the first Latina on the Orange County School Board in 2018, representing District 2.

Lopez now works as the secretary director of Alianza Center, a nonprofit that serves the Hispanic community.

This year she is also using the knowledge she’s gained throughout her teachering career as the leader of the parade’s scholarship committee.

The team creates the rubric to decide who will win $2,000 toward college fees and why.

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Lopez said helping her people is something she won’t ever give up on.

“We have to protect the lives of our students and also our staff,” Lopez said.

Channel 9 will be in attendance as five students receive scholarship awards.

READ: Local assistant superintendent to be honored as grand marshal of Florida Puerto Rican Parade

Lopez will be one of the many educators honored in this weekend’s Florida Puerto Rican Parade & Festival.

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