I was born in Jerez, Zacatecas. Heber Alberto Marquez Rosales.

My parents brought me to the US at a very young age and I’ve been here ever since. My parents first settled in Hollywood (and these years are filled with tons of stories that I hope to one day be able to share with ya’ll). In the mid-1990s my parents decided to move to the City of Bell and this is where we’ve been the longest. I finished 3rd grade at Nueva Vista Elementary, went to Nimitz Middle School, and was Class of 2004 at Bell High School. After high school, I started at Cal State Long Beach where I earned a BA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Language and Literacy with a Teaching Credential. I started teaching 6th and 7th grade English in the beautiful community of Highland Park at Academia Avance Charter School. I had the privilege to work with amazing colleagues and teach talented students all while being adopted by the familias in the vecindad, all while earning a MA degree in School Leadership from CSU Dominguez Hills. In 2017, after teaching four years and being a principal for two years, I left the community of Highland Park to pursue one of my dreams: to work in the community that saw me grow up: Southeast Los Angeles. Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Magnet School (MaCES) became my new school community. I started teaching ELD, ELA, and Humanities grades 6-12th. I then served as an Intervention Coordinator and I have just recently accepted a position as Assistant Principal.

Coming back to work in Southeast LA, has given me a lot more than just work; it’s like if I got a new life. In 2013 I bought a casita in Maywood and spent that summer in Sierra Leone, Africa working with the community of Mange Bureh and surrounding communities with a group of missionaries from St. Rose of Lima. I met Francis and my life completely changed. In 2017 I returned to Sierra Leone to work with students and teachers across multiple communities surrounding Mange Paradise. Between 2013 and now, I’ve gone to and led multiple missions to places like New Orleans and the Dominican Republic. In 2018 I ran (on a dare) to be part of the City of Maywood council and won (a story for another time). Fast forward to 2022, I am currently serving as Mayor during my last year as an elected official. I haven’t decided if I will be running again because I am also working on my doctorate degree. I am halfway through the program at USC and if all goes well, I will be one degree hotter in August 2023 (Check out “Orange Chicken with a Side of Tears” to read about getting accepted).