She grew up in Montebello, where her parents still live, and is a proud graduate of Montebello High School, Stanford University (where she earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies) and UCLA School of Law. She is currently a President Barack Obama appointee to the international Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, which monitors continental environmental impacts of NAFTA. She lives in the San Fernando Valley with her husband and precocious 8 year-old daughter.