SACRAMENTO – On Monday, Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) presented Rita Mancera with the Woman of the Year Award in recognition of her public service to the San Mateo County South Coast. Mancera is the Executive Director of Puente de la Costa Sur (Puente), a community resource center in Pescadero, California, that serves mostly immigrant and low-income agricultural workers.
"It is an honor to pay tribute to Rita's exceptional work in the 24th Assembly District. Rita has spent the last decade nurturing a stronger, healthier community through in-person, comprehensive services for residents and families that are some of the hardest working yet the least compensated in my district," said Berman. "Having visited the Puente offices in Pescadero, it's clear that Rita and her staff are doing a great deal of good with limited resources, and this work will be even more critical in the coming years."
Mancera joined Puente in 2006 as a volunteer shortly after immigrating to California from Mexico. Since then, she has served as the nonprofit’s Community Builder, Program Director, and Deputy Executive Director. In addition to her role at Puente, she is also paralegal, a Board of Immigration Appeals accredited legal worker, a notary public and a Zumba instructor.
An indispensable asset to Puente, Mancera has helped the organization make the most of limited resources and become the vibrant entity it is today. In 2006, Puente was a three-member team with an operating budget less than $200,000. Today, Puente employs 26 full and part-time staff, has an operating budget over $2 million, and offers 40+ programs related to health and wellness, immigration and citizenship, workforce training, education and youth leadership and development.
Assemblymember Berman represents the 24th Assembly District, which includes southern San Mateo County and northern Santa Clara County. Website of Assemblymember Berman: www.assembly.ca.gov/berman
Contact: Kaitlin Curry (916) 319-2024