Dr. Gabriel Buelna

For many years Dr. Gabriel Buelna has served the people of Los Angeles.  Beginning with his work at the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services to his current role as Executive Director of the 103 year-old Plaza Community Services.  Dr. Buelna has dedicated his life to ensuring that resources and protection are afforded to those in need.  Dr. Buelna has concentrated the majority of his professional life on the greater Los Angeles area.

In the early 90s, Dr. Buelna began his career as a children’s social worker with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and went on to become a foster care agency administrator. He worked with abused and neglected children, their families, law enforcement and the courts. Through this intense involvement in the community, Dr. Buelna learned that safe neighborhoods, job creation, and education are the foundation for healthy families.

Dr. Buelna began his community activism in college as a member of the United Farm Workers Student Group and as an Associated Students Senator.  Dr. Buelna has dedicated his life to organizing people to work together for a better way of life for all – a force for workers’ rights, voter registration, and youth programs.  He applied his outreach and organizational skills to two massive U.S.C. eye research projects:  The L.A. Latino Eye Study (LALES) and the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Study in Inglewood..  Dr. Buelna remains a steering committee member for the Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative and an advisory board member of the annual book fair, Feria del Libro which draws ten thousand people each year to East Los Angeles to celebrate reading with over one hundred book vendors and renowned authors.

Dr. Buelna graduated from California State University Northridge (CSUN) with a Bachelor’s degree before completing a master’s program in Social Work at San Diego State University.  Dr. Buelna earned his Ph.D. from the School of Politics and Economics at the Claremont Graduate University.  In 1999, Buelna joined CSUN as a faculty member where he continues to teach history and politics.  Dr. Buelna has also been recognized as a political spokesman and is a frequent political commentator on the television network Univision.

Dr. Buelna attributes much of his success to his strong family ties. As the son of immigrant parents in South Los Angeles, Dr. Buelna grew up in a household full of tradition and support.  Dr. Buelna and his wife of 14 years, Pilar, have three daughters: Gabriela 9, Gema, 7, and Paulina, 5 who are active students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Dr. Buelna remains committed to improving the world his daughters will inherit and imparts upon them the critical need to do the same for their children.