Meet The Team

Marlene Cardenas is a dedicated HR professional and community advocate, passionate about empowering the next generation of leaders. She is the President of the LUCHA Scholarship Foundation, an organization committed to providing educational opportunities to underserved students. A proud graduate of Baldwin Park High School (Class of 2014), Marlene understands firsthand the impact that scholarships and mentorship can have on students striving for higher education as a scholarship recipient herself.

In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Marlene is an accomplished HR Business Partner with expertise in employee relations, compliance, and strategic HR initiatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in leadership and management with a concentration in HR from the University of La Verne, along with SHRM-CP certification. She is currently completing her Employment Law and Compliance Certificate at USC (Spring 2025).

Through both her professional and philanthropic work, Marlene is committed to uplifting communities, fostering educational success, and advocating for equity in the workplace and beyond.

I grew up in Baldwin Park and I'm currently a Social Science,  AVID, and Chicano Studies teacher at Baldwin Park High School.  After graduating from BPHS in 1990, I attended San Diego State University, where I earned a B.A. in Social Science with a minor in Mexican American Studies, as well as my teaching credential.  I decided to help launch a scholarship and community based non-profit organization in memory of a great human being I grew up with, Oscar Enrique Gomez.  I hope you can join us in whatever capacity is best for you.

Oscar and I go back to 1977. My Ninos (godparents) lived across the street from the Gomez Family. My parents, to get me to go with them always said lets go to your ninos house and you can go play with the Gordito… That Gordito was Oscar Gomez. We both went to
Central School, Jones Jr. High and Graduated from Baldwin Park High School in 1990. Now I am an instructor at Laborers Training School. Even before becoming an instructor, I knew the importance of having a higher education. This is why I became involved in LUCHA. I am blessed to be elected President of LUCHA by my peers. I hope to continue awarding scholarships, helping LUCHA grow, and continuing Oscar’s legacy through our recipients. Baldwin Park youth, with guidance and support, will make their dreams come true. Higher education is their first step to achieve this GOAL!!

I graduated from Pomona High School in 1989 and went on to UC Davis to earn a B.S. in Applied
Behavioral Sciences, then later a Masters of Education & Teaching Credential from the Claremont
Graduate University. My first career was as a Bilingual Elementary School Teacher in La Puente, CA.
Then I transitioned into motherhood for a while, and returned for my second career in business as VP of
Human Resources for Hispanic Grocers, Inc. and as co-founder of Mind Growers, an educational
consulting firm. It was a great honor crossing paths with a great friend, Oscar E. Gomez, while we were
undergraduate students at UC Davis in the 1990s. Both of us far away from our families and friends who
lived in SoCal. We learned to build community and live through trying times as Chicano student activists
while at UC Davis, where we both learned a lot along the way, serving as leaders in MEChA, a student
campus organization. Oscar’s optimistic spirit comes alive in every LUCHA scholar that we help fund to
pursue higher education. Together, we build a better future for Baldwin Park.

I graduated from Baldwin Park High School in 1994 and continued my education at California State Fullerton where I earned my B.A. I teach for the Baldwin Park Unified School District, hoping to inspire today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders. As a coordinator of LUCHA, I strive to maintain Oscar’s legacy by giving back to the community in which we grew up in by awarding scholarships to those who are ambitious in their pursuit of a post secondary education.
"We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own." - Cesar Chavez