Katherine Aleman is a mother of four who has spent her life serving others, as a teacher, Peace Corps Volunteer and former environmental non-profit manager. A Norco resident who strongly believes that local government’s main goal should be to serve its residents and put their interests first, she is currently running for a seat on the City Council.
Katherine grew up in Ontario, CA after spending her early years on a Marine Corps base, and participated in band, swimming, volleyball, soccer and cross-country. After graduating high school with a 4.2 GPA, she attended the University of California at Davis. Katherine put herself through college with the help of her parents, by taking out student loans and working both part and full-time each year she was in school.Through her hard-work and leadership, she was promoted from employee, to supervisor and before her Senior year to manager of the Coffee House, the largest student-run “restaurant” in the United States. She was named an Outstanding Senior by the University in 2002 and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Evolution and Ecology.
Upon graduation Katherine poured her passion for education and aquatics into her community, coaching swimming at Colony High School, where she received Coach of the Year in 2004. While teaching Biology, she continued to coach swimming and water polo at Corona High School. She received her Master’s in Education in Cross-Cultural Teaching in 2004 and the following year she pursued her long-time goal of serving in the United States Peace Corps as an Environmental Education volunteer. From 2005-2007 Katherine worked with national and local government, school districts, and non-profits on a variety of health, literacy, environmental and agricultural projects. As part of a team of educators she was able to secure grant funding from USAID for a school library in the community she lived in, as well as work with Paraguay’s National Ministry of Children’s Affairs to train youth as leaders and peer educators. Katherine received numerous awards in recognition of her tireless spirit and contributions to her community.
Upon completion of her Peace Corps service, Katherine worked as a Program Associate at the California Climate Action Registry and as a Program Manager at the national Climate Registry. Using her expertise on environmental issues, she assisted organizations in calculating and preparing inventories of their GHG emissions. She developed and conducted trainings for state organizations and corporations, conducted fundraising outreach, and presented at various conferences.
In 2010, Katherine returned to education as a teacher in South Los Angeles and has remained in the education field ever since. She continued to coach, both volleyball and swimming, and returned to teaching in the Corona Norco Unified School District in 2015. She completed her Preliminary Administrative Services Credential in 2016 and received her Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language and Academic Development Credential in Spanish in 2018. Katherine has been a teacher-leader in the district, presenting at Equity conferences, serving on the District Dual Language Immersion Steering Committee, the District Science Leadership Committee, and leading at her school as a Grade Level Leader, Middle School Science Fair Coordinator, Science Department Chair and a member of her site’s Guiding Coalition.
Throughout her career, Katherine has served as a mentor for the youth she has worked with and volunteered her free time to support various charitable organizations. In 2011 she was awarded the Archbishop’s Recognition of Ministry Award in recognition for her service to Young Adults in Los Angeles. Katherine is running for City Council to demand room at the table for community members who are not currently represented, while fighting to maintain our trail system, keep residential areas free from large commercial projects, and nurture our unique Norco lifestyle. Katherine hopes her four children will grow up in a city that is as welcoming and beautiful as she believes Norco can be.
