Martha Flores Gibson, Republican Candidate for State Assembly District 70

General Information

Name : Dr. Martha Flores Gibson
Age : 57
Place of residence : El Salvador

Education

College

Attended college : Yes
College : CSULB
Degree : BSW
Year of graduation : 1983

Grad school

University : CSULB
Degree : MSW
Year of graduation : 1986

Ph D.

University : Fielding University
Area of research : Education, leadership and change
Year of graduation : 2000

Employment Information

Job titles held : N/A
Employers : N/A

Political Information

Party affiliation : Republican
Running for a: State office
Running for position: State Assembly
Chamber/district: 70th District
Incumbent: No
Previous elective offices : NA
Unsuccessful bids for elective offices : State Assembly 54 District 2010

Party HQ

Address 5090 E Los Coyotes Diagonal
Long Beach, CA 90815

Campaign Manager

Name : John Goya
Title : Campaign Manager

URLs

Website : marthafloresgibson.com
Twitter : @vote4martha
Facebook : facebook.com/marthafloresgibson
Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=martha+flores+gibson&oq=martha+flores+gibson&gs_l=youtube.12...1260.9822.0.12546.24.17.3.4.4.0.117.1196.14j3.17.0...0.0...1ac.OvTBvRaRgFM

Other facts

Dr. Gibson, 6 years old at the time, and her family, came to the United States with very little financial means. Dr. Gibson's mother desired to come to the United States because the Flores family did not have an adequate quality of life in El Salvador. Her mother, like many immigrants, wanted a piece of the American dream.

Dr. Gibson was schooled as a child, in a small, red, school building along with several other children. It was in this state Kansas, Dr. Gibson learned to speak English in just six months despite her dyslexia challenge. Two years later, she moved to Southern California with her family. Dr. Gibson and her family made the most of their new American freedoms such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and more importantly the pursuit of education.

Because of her mother's desire to pursue education, Dr. Gibson pursued her dreams of receiving a higher education degree which is why she today has her doctorate in education and other degrees. Dr. Gibson's step-father was a member of the U.S. Navy in Long Beach, California. Long Beach became her new home. Dr. Gibson attended Muir Elementary, Hamilton Middle School, and Wilson High School. Growing up, she found a hobby in sewing and eventually began to make all her own clothing. Martha also fell in love with the performing arts and dancing. Dr. Gibson wanted to pursue a performing arts career, but decided to pursue education instead.

These activities kept Martha very active, busy, and healthy. While living in Long Beach, Dr. Gibson became very patriotic towards the United States because of her step father's involvement in the Navy and increased her love of education when she moved to Long Beach. Dr. Gibson loved attending school as a young child as she had a zest for learning. She knew at a very young age that she would be an "educator" and that she would pass on her educational knowledge to the unfortunate and disenfranchised as a means to "break them out of the cycle of poverty, etc." She also stressed to her children to do well in school as well which is why her foster and biological children have succeeded. After graduating from high school, Dr. Gibson attended Cerritos College. She then was hired by Los Angeles County as a dental assistant in the juvenile hall institutions. She then was transferred and hired by the MacLaren detention center. She then left county service after seven years of service. She then returned to college, as an adult learner, to Long Beach City College.

After Long Beach City College, Dr. Gibson transferred to California State University Long Beach, where she obtained her bachelor of science degree in social work and master's degree in social work. To support her three children as a single mother and help pay for her education, Dr. Gibson worked in the Student Learning Center as an English as a Second Language tutor. It was then she decided to go back to school to get her doctorate degree so she could continue to work with underprivileged youth. Eventually, Dr. Gibson was hired by the Los Angeles County Children Services Department as a social worker in the Spanish-speaking unit. She then was hired into the Long Beach Unified School District to work as a counselor and social worker so that she could influence children at the academic level.

Her careers in the Los Angeles County Children Services Department, the Long Beach Unified School District and the Juvenile Detention centers shaped Dr. Gibson into the successful and passionate leader in education she is today. Although Dr. Gibson and her husband, Steve Gibson, are retired school district teachers today, Dr. Gibson is still very involved in many community and civic programs. She believes she and her husband are "truly enjoying life together in Long Beach."

The Gibsons have a home-based business together called Legal Shield. Legal Shield provides legal services and identity theft protection services to families. Dr. Gibson's three children are adults now and are very successful in various careers. Her daughter is a Bakersfield school district nurse. One of her boys is a paramedic and the other is a captain in the Los Angeles fire department. The Gibsons love the beach life and dancing. Dr. Gibson and her husband have traveled extensively to Europe, China, Australia, the Caribbean and Central America. They attend Cornerstone Christian Church and volunteer with many children and youth programs.