Page 3 - Community Newsletter :: Spring 2021

GETTING TO KNOW
Councilwoman
Martha Cardenas-Singh
Passionate for people and great causes would be a good way to describe Martha Cardenas-Singh. She pays attention to what is happening around her and in her community. She finds purpose in what she does and where she spends her time.
Martha Cardenas-Singh has spent most of her life in El Centro, except for about five years (1990-1995) when she moved to Banning, California where she was employed at Banning Unified School District. She attended Hedrick Elementary School, Wilson Junior High School and is a graduate from Central Union High School. She attended Imperial Valley College (IVC), University of Redlands, and University of Phoenix.
She has been married to Edward Singh for thirty-two years and together they have two children, Kendra and Kayla. Kendra is married to Raul Ochoa and they have two children, Jordon (11⁄2 years old) and Sienna (2months old). Kayla is married to Guillermo Hernandez and they also have two children, Kali (5 years old) and Dominic (2 months old). She and her husband, Edward enjoy spending time with their children and especially their grandchildren! “I love any opportunity I can get to spend time with my grandchildren! They are at ages where they are just so much fun!” says
#WeAreElCentro
Cardenas-Singh. Martha draws energy from the strong support she gets from her husband. He understands her and her motivation.
Her parents are Abe and Enedina Cardenas. Abe retired from the City of El Centro Public Works Department after thirty-six years of service, and her mother Enedina retired from the Imperial County Office of Education-Alternative Education as an Instruction Aide after thirty-three years of service. Martha has one brother who, like her, served on the El Centro City Council. Alex Cardenas is currently an IID Director for Division 1.
“I wonder if Alex and I are the first set of siblings to serve as City of El Centro Council members” states Martha.
Martha has worked for the University of California San Diego for twelve years. She is the Assistant Director with the California Student Opportunities and Access Program (CalSOAP). “Our mission is to provide information about postsecondary education and financial aid for elementary through high school age students, while raising their academic achievement levels,” says Singh. She goes on to state, “In particular, CalSOAP is committed to providing services to students from the following backgrounds, low-income families, first generation, schools with low eligibility or college participation rates or geographic areas with documented low college participation.” She finds a great deal of satisfaction in her job and her quest to help children find their way through the education process.
Aside from a busy career, a growing family and a councilmember, Martha also volunteers her time to great causes, such as:
• Scholarship Coordinator for MANA de Imperial Valley that provides leadership development, promotes higher education/career technical programs, provides community service to vulnerable underserved populations and advocacy efforts for Latina woman.
• Vice-President/Co-Program Chair of Soroptimist International of El Centro that serve to improve lives of women and girls with access to education and training needs to achieve economic empowerment.
• Treasurer of ARC of Imperial Valley which provides individuals with disabilities, especially development disabilities with employment, vocational preparation, residential living, paratransit and other specialized programs.
• Treasurer of Vo Neighborhood Medical, which is a nonprofit wellness clinic that is working towards stopping the spread of the COVID-19 by providing for COVID-19 patients as they stay home in isolation and are recuperating.
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