Nora Vargas
Nora E. Vargas is an American politician who served on the San Diego [County Board of Supervisors] from 2021 to 2025, representing District 1. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the body from 2023 to 2025 and was the first immigrant and the first Latina to serve in the body.
After being re-elected in the 2024 [San Diego County Board of Supervisors election|2024 election] with 62.5% of the vote, Vargas announced that she would not be taking the oath of office for a second term. She formally resigned from the board of supervisors on January 6, 2025.
Early life and education
Vargas was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and grew up in southern San Diego County, California. She graduated from Montgomery High School and attended Southwestern College before matriculating to the University of San Francisco, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in political science in 1993.She later completed graduate work in women's studies at Claremont Graduate University.
She has worked at various non-profit organizations and was vice president of community and governmental relations at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the California State Teachers' Retirement System in 2015 and she served on the Southwestern College board.