Rosario Anaya

Rosario Anaya, Executive Director, 1973 - 2015

Originally from Cochabamba, Bolivia, Ms. Anaya received a B.A. in Public Administration and a Master’s in Counseling and Psychology from the University of San Francisco, she was also a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. She served as the Executive Director of MLVS from 1973-2015. From its inception, MLVS has served over 25,000 students who have made contributions in virtually all sectors of society and business.

In 2001, Ms. Anaya was voted onto the Board of Directors for The Green Lining Institute, served on the Board of Pacific News Service/New America Media until 2015, as well as a long-standing Board Member for Paradigm Productions. She was a former Vice President and member of the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission, appointed Commissioner in 2010 by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom. Previously in her political career, Ms. Anaya was appointed to the San Francisco Board of Education by late Mayor George Moscone, in citywide elections she was elected to 4-year terms in 1978, 1982, and 1986. She also served twice as School Board President and was the first Latin American woman elected to public office in the City’s history.

Ms. Anaya served on several boards and committees throughout her career and was the recipient of many awards, notably the Order of Francisco de Miranda Medallion from the President of the Republic of Venezuela, and in 2012 she received the OHTLI Award from the Mexican government. Some of the other distinguished awards that she received were from the Volunteers of America Bay Area, Inc., the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Californians for Solar and Clean Energy, Hispanic Women Making History, and the Latino Heritage Month Education award. Posthumously, she was awarded the Dolores Huerta Lifetime Achievement award, and inducted into the NEN Hall of Fame.

On August 20, 2016, the building which houses MLVS at 2929 19th Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, was dedicated and named “The Rosario Anaya Education Center/El Centro Educational de Rosario Anaya”, honoring longtime MLVS Executive Director and education advocate, Ms. Rosario Anaya.