About Felipe Fuentes
Felipe Fuentes’ deep understanding and strong commitment to public service were shaped by two profound events he experienced as a young man.
As a junior at San Fernando High School, Felipe witnessed a small child being struck by a delivery truck. Felipe was understandably frightened, but he did not panic. He used his first-aid training, learned as an Explorer Scout, to apply a tourniquet to the boy’s leg, effectively saving his life. Then, when Felipe was a freshman at UCLA, his high school buddy, Rick Olivares, a Pre-Med student, was killed in a mistaken identity shooting by gang members. These incidents taught Felipe that he needed to serve his community in an active way, and that his community needed leadership that could bring positive change.
As the Chief of Staff to Councilman Alex Padilla, Felipe used his tragic experiences to create change for families of the Northeast San Fernando Valley. He helped establish a pilot for a “Safe Routes to Schools” program. He worked to help bring the first new police station to the San Fernando Valley in twenty-five years, and to create effective anti-gang programs. But Felipe’s history of service to the San Fernando Valley has spanned well beyond these achievements.
Felipe began his career promoting immigrant and children’s rights through the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. In 1999, Felipe began serving the 7th council district as a field deputy, working with the grassroots leadership of the district. In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Mayor of the San Fernando Valley. Felipe managed the Mayor’s Office of the Neighborhood Advocate, Volunteer Corps, Constituent Services, and the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative. He was the Mayor’s liaison to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, Animal Services, and the Department of Building & Safety.
Felipe then went on to serve the 7th council district as Council President Padilla’s Chief of Staff. In that post, Felipe has been an integral part of the construction and revitalization of the Northeast Valley’s police and fire stations, libraries, and infrastructure improvements. He has also worked to bring more parks and open space to the Valley, including new neighborhood parks and soccer fields. He has led the effort to transform Hansen Dam into an education and recreational center, so that families in the Northeast Valley may have a local regional destination.
The grandson of Mexican immigrants, Felipe has deep roots in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. His family has lived and worked in Pacoima, Arleta, Sylmar and Panorama City since the mid-1950’s. Felipe attended local public schools before going on to the University of California at Los Angeles, where he earned his B.A, and Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University, where he earned an MBA.
Felipe has lived in Pacoima and Arleta and now resides in Sylmar with his wife, Lena Wu-Fuentes, owner of a Los Angeles based children’s apparel company. Lena and Felipe are proud parents to one-year old, Iliana Flor Fuentes.
