Sal Ramirez grew up as the fourth of seven children in a big Mexican family in East Los Angeles.  After completing undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, he decided to enroll in the Peace Corps and served as a Secondary School Health Educator in Khazakistan.  He was supposed to stay for two years, but the program was shut down after his first year due to widespread political instability in that country.  

He returned to the U.S., completed a Masters in Public Policy at Brandeis, and launched a career in the non-profit sector back in California. In 2022, he found a unique way to serve again through politics:  He campaigned to serve as the honorary mayor of his hometown of Carmichael, California by raising funds for local non-profits.  He ended up raising the most money of all the candidates and stepped into the role of Honorary Mayor, a year-long post in which he has found a way to contribute in substantive ways to policy debates impacting his community.

In this episode, Sal talks about his service journey, his experience as a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ plus community, and his experiences serving as an honorary mayor.