Aida Cardenas ’96

As executive director of Building Skills Partnership (BSP), Aida Cardenas ’96 leads a unique training collaboration between the janitors’ union (Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West or SEIU-USWW), responsible businesses, and the community to advance the skills and opportunities of low-wage building service workers across California.

Cardenas is herself a daughter of Mexican immigrant service workers. She graduated from UCLA in 1996 with a B.A. in history and has over 16 years experience coordinating and directing educational, leadership, and organizing initiatives with janitors and other low-wage service workers. As an organizer and eventually the southern California staff director for SEIU-USWW, Cardenas led organizing campaigns and contract negotiations. SEIU-USWW represents more than 40,000 janitors, security officers, airport service workers and other property service workers across California. Her leadership was crucial in bringing together representatives from several organizations, including industry employers and building owners, to expand a statewide training collaborative and create the BSP statewide non-profit.

Cardenas was appointed to the Workforce Investment Boards of both the city and county of Los Angeles, and is part of the Council for Immigrant Integration. She has been recognized for her efforts and received the 2013 Leadership Award from the James Irvine Foundation.