Irvine Ranch Water District
http://www.irwd.com/liquid-news/news-releases/archive/coro-fellow-joins-irvine-ranch-water-district.html
Coro Fellow Joins Irvine Ranch Water District
Published Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
Political Science Graduate to Spend Month in Public Affairs
Irvine Ranch Water District is hosting a Coro Fellow for the second consecutive year. Joaquin Beltran will be working in the IRWD Public Affairs Department for a month. After just a week, Beltran said his eyes have been opened on water issues.
“Water is such a large part of our daily lives and it’s pretty much under the radar with a lot of people,” Beltran said.
While at IRWD, he is embarking on two projects – conducting research on the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta and working on the District’s social media program.
Coro is a non-profit, non-partisan educational institute supported by foundations, corporations and individuals. It began in 1942, originally to train young veterans in leadership skills. Since 1947, the program has grown to include Coro Centers in six cities nationwide, with 1,000-1,200 participants per year. Today, the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time, nine month, graduate-level leadership program that prepares individuals in the public affairs arena.
Beltran grew up in East Los Angeles with immigrant parents whom he counts among his mentors. His mother started the family business – an automobile dealership – more than 20 years ago. He entered California State University, Los Angeles majoring in music. As a guitar player and singer, Beltran was a member of a band, “Soul Rezen,” and was about to finish up an album when he was needed by his parents to help out with the family business.
“The city issued eminent domain on my parent’s dealership, so they needed to relocate,” Beltran recalled. “I left school for three years to help out. I learned every aspect of the auto business, from buying and selling the cars, to financing – it was a seven-day-a-week job.”
He eventually returned to CSULA, changing his major to political science. A year later, inspired by the presidential campaign of Barak Obama, Beltran joined Obama for America as an intern, recruiting campaign volunteers in Nevada. That experience encouraged him to launch a successful run for student body president at CSULA.
Following graduation with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Beltran spent eight months with the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers Network, creating public affairs strategy. Through friends and other mentors, he was encouraged to apply to Coro. He is one of 12 members of the 2011-2012 Los Angeles Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. His first assignment was the Liberty Hill Foundation. IRWD is his second placement.
In addition to the intensive work of the Coro program, Beltran is working toward his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
For more information about the Coro Fellowship Program, please visit the Coro website and for more information about IRWD, please visit our website.
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