Gonzalez, Bethaida.

Bethaida Carmen "Bea" González (1954- ) was the first Latina elected to the Syracuse (New York) School Board (1991) and Common Council (2001), and was a candidate for mayor of Syracuse in 2009.

Bea González was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico in 1954 but moved with her family to central New York when she was three years old. For nearly a decade, her migrant farmworker parents moved frequently; González estimates that she attended thirteen elementary schools. By the time she reached middle school, González’s father entered a construction laborers’ union and the family settled permanently in Syracuse. The first member of her family to receive a high school diploma, she received her B.A. in political science and Latin American studies from SUNY Binghamton and an MPA from Syracuse University. In 1984, González began working for Syracuse University as an academic advisor; since then, she has held various positions in the university’s administration including interim dean of the college (2004-2007) and dean of the college (2007-present).

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