Bio for Blanca E. Castro – Director of Advocacy for AARP

 

Blanca Castro is a change agent whose life passion is advocating on behalf of vulnerable, diverse populations. She is the Director of Advocacy for AARP California, responsible for leading federal and state advocacy efforts and coordinating grassroots activities in support of AARP’s legislative priorities. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with over 37 million members, working to strengthen communities by fighting for issues that matter most to families, such as healthcare, employment security, and retirement planning. Prior to working at AARP, Ms. Castro was Manager of Provider Relations for the Medi-Cal Fiscal Intermediary, Xerox Inc.

 

Ms. Castro was appointed by Governor Gray Davis to serve as Deputy Director of Public Affairs to the California Department of Social Services in 2000. One of the most important programs Ms. Castro developed was the No Shame, No Blame, No Names (Sin Pena, Sin Culpa, Sin Nombres) outreach campaign, informing the public about the state’s Safely Surrendered Baby Law.

 

She worked with the California Department of Health Services and helped develop a statewide culturally diverse social media campaign for the Diabetes Control Program. She also served as a project manager at Maximus for the Access to Recovery Effort Voucher Project, a statewide federally-funded demonstration project in California that was part of the President’s Faith-Based Initiative to serve youth with substance abuse addictions.

 

Ms. Castro was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States in 1960. She grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, attended Alhambra High School, and graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1981. She was a Coro Fellow in Los Angeles in 1993. Ms. Castro is the proud mother of three sons and grandmother of five. She resides in Roseville, California with her husband and two Great Danes.