Maria del Socorro Romo
Class 0f 2025
Maria Socorro Romo was born and raised in Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. She was brought up with thirteen siblings in a low-income household.In 1980, at age 21, Socorro immigrated to the United States with fear, hope, and determination to improve the lives of her loved ones. In 1983, she married her husband and they raised three children together. She has five grandchildren who inspire her to continue working toward an embracive and just world. At a young age, she was exposed to acts of injustice, biases, and discrimination, evoking her to protect classmates and herself from the bullying of disgruntled peers who made hurtful remarks based on her skin color and socioeconomic background.
Leaving her hometown was difficult. Her conservative family disapproved of women leaving home unmarried. She knew it would bring shame and dishonor to her family, and she would gain the reputation of being an unbridled woman. Before leaving her country, Socorro promised her mother and siblings that she would do her best not to fail. She desired to be a financial support for her mother, who was a victim of domestic violence, and ensure her youngest sister received the vision care she needed. When arriving in the United States, Socorro lived in Oakland before reuniting with two of her siblings, who lived on a dairy farm in West Marin. In this urban area, she met a mix of ethnic groups trying to coexist while fighting for the same resources. She was encouraged by many to assimilate into the new culture, something beyond comprehension for her. Although she saw the many opportunities that awaited her, she also saw the obstacles.
During her first years in West Marin, Socorro worked at the Johnson’s Oyster Company on Drakes Estero, shucking oysters. During this time, she remained focused on the promise she made to her mom to provide for her family in Mexico and support her sister’s health recovery; she kept her word.
Socorro moved to Napa County in 1984, becoming a stay-at-home parent, which allowed her to enroll in English as a Second Language courses. Eventually, she returned to West Marin, residing at the Murphy Ranch in the Point Reyes National Seashore, where she raised her three children. As her oldest daughter began school, her life took another turn when a parent requested Latino students to be segregated in a different class. Luckily, the school ignored the parent’s request, but this incident reopened Socorro’s childhood wounds and brought memories of the physical abuse toward her brother from one employer. This young, once-undocumented woman became fearless and found ways to be involved at her daughter’s school to ensure her little one was well taken care of. Two years later, Joyce Goldfield and Rebecca Porrata, friends and Marin Women’s Hall of Fame Honorees, encouraged her to start working at West Marin School, opening the doors to a leadership career that she humbly carries with love and respect for her community.
Socorro’s story is like many immigrants coming to the United States: inadequate housing, financial struggles, culture shock, and grief from leaving loved ones and cultural values behind to pursue the American Dream.
Socorro never gave up on her dream of pursuing higher education. She reached out to local mentors to get her G.E.D. In 2001, while working at West Marin Community Services (WMCS), Socorro joined AmeriCorps, and received a scholarship, that helped fund her continued education.She enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College, where she was onthe Dean’s List of Honor Roll, and obtained her AA in Language Arts. The journey was not easy, commuting to Santa Rosa at five in the morning four days a week. The classes started at 7:30 am, and she juggled work, school, and her children’s afterschool activities, yet her husband was loyal to her dreams and became her primary support. She studied at Sonoma State University to earn a Sociology Degree. In 2008, the recession impacted her family financially, forcing her to drop out two semesters shy of graduation. This setback did not discourage her; instead, she returned to work, focused on making a difference in the community, and in 2009, she returned to her beloved West Marin to work for WMCS for the second time.
Socorro advocates for an equitable and socially just community, focusing on challenges in West Marin and beyond by advocating with key stakeholders and government officials. She has faced challenges and resistance, but this has not slowed her down. Before joining WMCS, Socorro worked with Latino students and their families at West Marin Elementary School in Point Reyes Station and Loma Verde Elementary School in Novato. While at Loma Verde Elementary, Socorro developed an afterschool tutoring program with the support from parents and school staff donating their time.. The program was well attended, inspiring those involved to extend the program into a six-week summer academic program. Socorro shares that the program had a quirky start; it originated in an apartment complex, which served as home to many of the students who needed support before it expanded to the school campus. She expresses, “What made me very proud was to see the involvement of Latino parents and to see their dedication pay off when the students had made tremendous academic accomplishments.” Her inclusion, human dignity, and equity values positively impacted their lives.
As Program Director at WMCS, Socorro co-founded the program Abriendo Caminos (Finding our Path) in partnership with Maria Niggle. This program is centered around connecting the Latino and Anglo communities, building bridges, conducting leadership workshops, advocacy, and promoting social justice. The creation of this program has been instrumental for our Immigrant community members. The empowerment workshops, community potlucks, formation of the Immigration Rapid Response Team, the civic engagement and presentation of Dolores Huerta during the census campaign, and many other program projects have helped to bring the Latino Community out of the shadows and create a sense of belonging.
Through Abriendo Caminos, WMCS mentors participants from the farming community and enables them to fully participate in the Committee for Housing for Agricultural Workers and their Families (CHAWTF), a unique coallition of County, philanthropic groups, nonprofits, and community members living on agricultural housing in West Marin. Including their presence and representing their life experience in this work is significant for the inclusion and equity that Socorro advocates for. The West Marin Housing Action Study was released recently, and Socorro’s contributions set the stage for residents and the West Marin workforce to be included in this critical study.
As Executive Director at WMCS, Socorro established a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee. The goal of the DEI committee is to broaden and diversify its board, staff, and community members. She was also a pillar in establishing the West Marin Coalition for Equity and Justice, a group of community nonprofits aiming to address bias and racism, and push for systemic changes. She has brought County funding and increased donor engagement to strengthen safety net services for at-risk community members, always emphasizing equity in how services are distributed and how information is delivered to our community. Socorro was a key partner when Marin Community Foundation launched their Marin County MOM-Mentum pilot program; she collaborated in identifying a handful of West Marin low-income BIPOC mothers with school-age children to receive the guaranteed income program for two years.
During the pandemic, Socorro secured funds to continue offering services to the most vulnerable community members and established the West Marin Rapid Response Team. The purpose and goal of this program was to be the trusted messenger to hard-to-reach zones throughout Marin, as well as deploy public health services such as COVID-19 testing sites, coordinate pop-up vaccine clinics, distribute PPE materials, and host several Health Fairs in West Marin with the support of many community stakeholders. Dr. Matt Willis highlighted the success and impact of this program during a visit to our nation’s White House. In 2021, under Socorro’s direction, WMCS adopted the Tomales Bay Youth Center, founded by Madeline Hope Nieto. The merger came with shared values and goals, such as providing low-income youth with a safe environment and extracurricular opportunities. The implementation of Youth Services has been very well received by the community. This school year, the program expanded to Tomales High School to support students on early dismissal day.
Strong women in leadership have always mentored and supported her journey in the United States. She has delivered what she learned with love and compassion. Her work has been inspiring, selfless, driven by equity, diversity, and inclusion, and recognized by Novato Unified School District-Stand Up Novato, Congress Member Lynn Woolsey, Assembly members Mark Leno and Jared Huffman. In 2019, Assemblymember Mark Levine, 10th District, named her State of California Women of the Year, receiving the award at the state Capitol.
Leading with compassion, Socorro embodies the essence of a community builder by cultivating deep, lasting relationships. She is committed, responsible, nurturing, and creatively delivers services that make a meaningful impact on those who need it the most.
