Meet Vivian Malauulu

Vivian Malauulu has spent nearly 30 years advocating for West Long Beach families as a community activist, educator, and union leader.

Born in Honduras, she immigrated to the U.S. when she was seven years old with her young single mother and—despite not speaking English—quickly excelled in public schools. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from Cal State Northridge while working in local radio and television news. Inspired by her own educational journey, she returned to the Harbor Area to teach high school English and later earned an M.A. in Educational Administration from Cal State Dominguez Hills.  She holds four teaching and administrative credentials, one of which was partly completed at Cal State Long Beach.

While mentoring thousands of students, Malauulu has continued to work the night shift as a registered longshore worker at the twin ports, proudly representing the goods-movement industry. A multi-term labor leader, she made history as the first woman elected Benefits Officer of ILWU Local 13 in the union’s 84-year history, where she championed health care and pensions for more than 30,000 workers and their families.

In 2016, she became the first Latina elected to the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees, serving multiple terms as Board President and Vice President. She is also the first trustee with direct ties to the Pacific Islander community through her husband, who is Samoan. Vivian spearheaded the creation of the LBCC Labor Center—the first of its kind in the L.A. Harbor region—and launched the popular bi-monthly Beach Flea Market at LBCC’s Trade Tech Campus, helping more than 400 local small businesses rebound after the pandemic.

Malauulu is now in her 14th year on the Greater Long Beach YMCA Early Childhood Education Board, championing quality preschools for low-income families and supporting initiatives like the new YMCA Youth Center in Wrigley. She completed eight years on the Long Beach Commission on Youth and Families, where she strengthened its role as an advisory body to the City Council and helped establish both the City’s annual Youth Forum and the nationally recognized Youth Poet Laureate Program. She was appointed by Supervisor Janice Hahn to L.A. County’s Post-Pandemic Economic Resiliency Team as a labor representative and by State Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez to California’s AB 639 Task Force on Transitioning Port Jobs to a Cleaner Economy. Nationally, she serves on the Executive Boards of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).

Vivian and her husband, George, have been married for 27 years and have lived in Long Beach since 2000. They have proudly raised their four children—now ages 16 to 25—in the same Wrigley home where they started their family. From the time they were toddlers, their kids attended local schools and played sports through the city’s parks and recreation programs.

After years of putting family first, Vivian is nearing the completion of her lifelong goal: earning a doctorate degree.  Her focus is on skilled workforce development in the age of artificial intelligence and the impact of automation on displaced blue-collar workers. Deeply committed to community service, she is ready to take that experience and leadership to City Hall to serve her West Long Beach neighbors.