JRG Reception for Richard Barrera, 2026 Candidate for State Superintendent
On Friday, September 11, 2026, JRG Attorneys at Law hosted a reception to welcome Richard Barrera, 2026 candidate for California State Superintendent of schools. JRG hosts Jason Retterer (managing partner), Jeff Gilles (founding partner), and Nathalia Carrillo (External Affairs Coordinator and President, Salinas Union High School District Board of Trustees) introduced Barrera to the distinguished members of the community in attendance.
The son of an immigrant father from Colombia and the grandson of Ellis Island immigrants, Richard Barrera’s story is one of sacrifice, opportunity, and the transformative power of public education. Richard’s family came to the United States searching for a better life and quickly learned that public education is the single greatest equalizer in American society—when our schools thrive, so do our communities. A San Diego native, Richard attended public school from kindergarten through college, graduating from the University of California, San Diego, before earning a master’s in public policy from Harvard University.
Barrera is the current board president and has served as an elected board member of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), the second largest school district in the state, for the past 18 years. He currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor in State Superintendent Tony Thurmond’s administration at the California Department of Education.
Attendees included Dr. Deneen Guss, Monterey County Office of Education Superintendent; Dan Burns, Monterey County Office of Education Superintendent Elect; Dr. Zandra Galvan, Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD) Superintendent; Washington Union School District Superintendent Gina Uccelli; Dr. Rebecca Andrade, Salinas City Elementary School District Superintendent; Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez, City of Salinas Mayor Dennis Donahue and Councilmember Tony Barrera, and education leaders and community leaders.
JRG and SUHSD administration then led Barrera and his team on a tour of SUHSD high schools Rancho San Juan High School and Everett Alvarez High School, including Alvarez’s state of the art performing arts center.
Richard Barrera, 2026 Candidate for State Superintendent
