Omar Carrera joins Marin IJ editorial board as public member
December 31, 2022
By: Marin Independent Journal
Omar Carrera, CEO of the San Rafael-based nonprofit Canal Alliance, has joined the Independent Journal’s editorial board as its public member.
Carrera, 49, replaces former Larkspur Mayor Larry Chu, who served on the board from May to August.
Carrera spent the first 29 years of his life in Ecuador. He moved to Marin County after meeting his future wife – registered nurse Erin Carrera – while she was working in the South American country. The Corte Madera residents raised two daughters in Marin.
Before coming to the U.S., Omar Carrera worked in technology for Mitsubishi Motors. He connected with Canal Alliance, an organization working on behalf of immigrants, while trying to learn English immediately after his arrival. He “fell in love” with the mission and was hired as a technology instructor in 2004. Carrera’s work prompted him to complete a nonprofit management program at San Francisco State University, before earning several other graduate-level certificates in the field.
He is a member of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the city’s 2040 General Plan Steering Committee and the San Rafael Housing Element Working Group. He is president of the Marin Coed Soccer League.
“I try to connect the dots and connect all the people that need to be sitting at the table,” Carrera said. “We need to continue to learn from history and try to do things differently and more inclusively.”
Reserving a position on the board for a member of the public is a long-standing tradition at the IJ. Carrera joins IJ President and Publisher Rob Devincenzi, Managing Editor Jennifer Upshaw Swartz, Opinion Editor Dave Allen and editorial writer Brad Breithaupt. The board discusses local issues reported by the IJ and develops stands reflected in that week’s editorials.
