Roberto S. Juarez is a life-long resident of Ventura County. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roberto grew up in Oxnard and attended elementary schools in La Colonia, Juanita and Ramona schools.  Roberto attended Haydock Junior high school and Hueneme High schools.  He is a decorated veteran of the Viet Nam War and upon his discharge attended Ventura College, UCLA and California Lutheran University.

Roberto has been a community activist his entire adult life, wrote the first Affirmative Action Plan which was adopted for the entire Ventura County and later adopted as a model by the State of California. He was a founder of El Concilio Del Condado De Ventura, Jardin De Ninos, Mothers of Murdered Children, among other community organizations.

Roberto early in his career worked in Public Health, Environmental Health, and left the County of Ventura as an administrator of Ventura County General Hospital.  While at Public Health Roberto was one of the founders of a free clinic movement that founded five free clinics in Ventura County, one of which later became Clinicas Del Camino Real, Inc., where he was the founder and Chief Executive Officer for 43 years. He dedicated over 50 years to Clinicas from its founding to his retirement.  Across the state Roberto assisted in opening over 250 clinics to serve the migrant and farmworker people of this state.

Roberto also chaired committees for four different governors of California advising on Migrant Health, Rural Health and Indian Health Services.  Roberto additionally chaired the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health for President Bill Clinton.

Roberto has supported The Rebozo Festival and its founders since their beginning.  Roberto and Irma Lopez met to discuss how to form an organization and how to best organize its board of directors.  Through Clinicas the bookkeeping and fundraising was coordinated for over ten years.  Roberto wrote the first bylaws and helped Rebozo establish the structure of the board of directors.   

I wish The Rebozo Festival and the Madrinas much success in the coming years and that they continue the great and positive influence they have had in our community.