Catalina Cifuentes

Catalina Cifuentes is executive director of College and Career Readiness for the Riverside County Office of Education. She is a governor-appointed commissioner and chair for the California Student Aid Commission and Cradle to Career System Governing Board. A passionate educator and fierce advocate, she has demonstrated the power behind effective school counseling, college affordability, and higher education advocacy on behalf of all students. In addition to serving on the PPIC Higher Education Center Advisory Council, she is a member of various local, regional, state, and national committees. She was the recipient of the Visionary Award from the California College Guidance Initiative; the Western Association for College Admission Counseling 2018 Joseph P. Allen Human Relations Award; the 2018 Inclusion, Access, and Success Award from the National Association of College Admission Counseling; and the 2019 Riverside County Office of Education Certificated Administrator of the Year. As a first-generation college graduate, she strives to show the impact that can be made when educators have high expectations for all students and when students pursue their post-secondary dreams regardless of the odds against them.