Tijerina is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. She has nearly a decade of experience in public health institutions, most recently at LifeGift, an organ procurement organization. Prior to LifeGift, she was the program coordinator in the Cancer Prevention and Population Science Division at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Originally from San Antonio, Tijerina began her career as a public health professional with positions at The University of Texas Health San Antonio and University Health System (the safety net county hospital district in Bexar County). She served as administrative staff to U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Tijerina has served on a number of professional organizations including the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO (Local 0900), the Texas State Employees Union/CWA (Local 6186) and Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc. She also holds a number of educational affiliations including the Academic Honor Societies, Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National College Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society. She has received numerous commendations and recognitions including a public health award from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 for a submission on the, ‘Breathe Easy South Texas Latent Tuberculosis,’ project.
She is also an accomplished Spanish and flamenco dancer with notable stints with Raices de Arte Español Flamenco Dance Academy and Fiesta Noche Del Rio Dance Company.
Tijerina lives with her husband and three children in Pasadena.
Original appointment: December 2021