Our community will thrive when all children are supported, encouraged, and provided the resources and tools they need to reach their full potential.
Erica Flores Baltodano has had a distinguished career as an attorney and policy advocate, law school professor and dean, SLO County Commissioner, and community leader. The daughter of a Mexican American father and Jewish immigrant mother, Baltodano traces her leadership abilities and confidence as a public speaker to her 10+ years as a Girl Scout and her commitment to public service and equity to her upbringing and professional training. She attended public schools from kindergarten through law school and is still in touch with some of her favorite elementary and high school teachers.
Baltodano was involved in the early stages of two seminal cases with statewide impacts on students: Williams (school facilities) and Katie A. (foster youth). She later represented youth sports organizations and other community groups in numerous cutting-edge cases that resulted in the creation of several new California State Parks and ultimately led to legislative changes intended to improve access to and protection of California’s green spaces for children for generations to come. After relocating to San Luis Obispo in 2011, Baltodano co-founded a successful employment law firm. Since 2019, she has dedicated most of her time to public service and education.
The proud mom of two incredible boys who have attended San Luis Coastal Unified School District schools since kindergarten, Baltodano recently received certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid and is a frequent speaker and field trip facilitator in K-12 District schools.
Baltodano, who lives in Trustee Area 6 with her husband and two sons, believes our community will thrive when all children are supported, encouraged, and provided the resources and tools they need to reach their full potential. Here are some relevant highlights from the last 22+ years of Baltodano’s career:
- Campus Dean, San Luis Obispo College of Law (SLOCL), a California-accredited law school. Having taught law students since 2019, Dean Baltodano now serves as the liaison between the law school and our local bar (attorneys), bench (judges), and institutions of higher education (Cal Poly, Cuesta Community College, etc.). She is a tireless advocate for SLOCL students, most of whom work full-time and are raising families during the day while obtaining their law degree in the evening.
- Vice President, SLO County Civil Service Commission. Commissioner Baltodano has served in a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial role alongside four other appointed Commissioners who collectively prescribe, interpret, and enforce the rules of employment that govern county employees since 2019. She is the lead Commissioner assigned to negotiations between the County and employee unions when civil service rules are amended.
- Member, Superintendent’s Common Ground Advisory Task Force. Baltodano has been making policy and program recommendations to the Superintendent of San Luis Coastal Unified School District since 2017. Her recommendations have helped shape School Board priorities and led to changes in hiring practices and professional training that benefit all students.
- Founding Board Member, San Luis Coastal Education Foundation. The Foundation supports innovation and equitable opportunities for academic excellence for SLCUSD students. During her five years on the Board, Baltodano led the Foundation’s efforts to support the District’s most vulnerable students during COVID-19 school closures, chaired the Grants & Civic Organization fundraising committee, and played a key role in shaping the Foundation’s short and long-term efforts to address barriers to access to higher education and career-readiness.
- Immediate Past President, San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation (SLOLAF). As a board member (2017-2019) and board president (2019-2023), Baltodano helped SLOLAF more than quadruple its budget, staffing, and free legal services for SLO county residents and families. In addition to handling housing, elder abuse, government benefits, and consumer law cases, SLOLAF now provides family law services for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.
- President, The Baltodano Firm, A Professional Corporation. Since 2019, Baltodano has mostly focused her time on public service and education. From 2010-2018, she served as managing partner and co-founder of the Baltodano Firm’s predecessor employment law firm representing victims of wage theft, sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. The firm received the Access to Justice Advocate Award from San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation in 2017.
- Assistant Director and Counsel, The City Project. Baltodano began her legal career at the Center for Law in the Public Interest in 2000, where she helped shape, guide, and manage the legal and policy work of the City Project. At the City Project, Baltodano helped influence the investment of millions of dollars in public resources, including parks, playgrounds, schools, beaches, and forests to enhance human health and the environment and promote equality and economic vitality for all communities. After relocating to San Luis Obispo with her husband and two children in 2011, Baltodano served on The City Project’s Advisory Board from 2011-2019. She was recently tapped to serve on the Advisory Council of Parks California, a statewide organization committed to making California’s state parks and public lands welcoming, inclusive, and climate-resilient spaces for all Californians.
- Selected Awards: In 2017 Baltodano delivered the keynote address at Women’s March SLO, saying “we must educate ourselves and our children and be teachers when necessary and students always.” In 2018 she was recognized by the SLO County Commission on the Status of Women and received the 2018 Outstanding women Lawyer Award from the Women Lawyers Association of SLO County for her long-standing commitment to mentorship. Baltodano was awarded the Frank J. Pantangelo Award from the SLO County Bar Association in 2016 for her 11-part series of essays called Mommy Esquire, merging lessons in the law with lessons in parenting and in 2021, she received the organization’s prestigious John L. Seitz Award for her outstanding community service benefiting the residents of SLO County.
- Public Speaking & Publications: Baltodano is a frequent speaker in college, law school, and K-12 classrooms and enjoys facilitating civic education-focused field trips for SLCUSD students. Articles and book chapters she’s written on topics related to her policy and legal work, including healthy children and healthy communities, have been published by the Fordham Urban Law Journal, Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law And Policy, Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Sacramento Bee, and beyond.
- Education: J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law. Graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sociology and a Minor in Public Policy from UCLA.