About Montserrat
I came to this country as a little girl with my mom and my sister, undocumented, not speaking a word of English. My mom worked three jobs and told us that education was the one thing no one could ever take away from us. That belief shaped my life.
I graduated from Austin public schools, did my basics at ACC, and completed both my bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Texas. I became a bilingual pre-K teacher in Austin ISD and spent eight years in the classroom.
When the Texas Legislature cut funding for full-day pre-K, I called Education Austin and asked what was being done. The response: What are you ready to do? We organized parents, teachers, and professors. We met with school board members and spoke out at Austin ISD meetings. When the state failed our children, Austin's school board stepped up and funded the entire program. That experience transformed my life and taught me the power of collective action. I carry those lessons to this day.
I went on to serve as Vice President of Education Austin and later as Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO — the first Latina ever elected to that role — representing more than 250,000 working Texans.
In the Biden-Harris Administration, I served as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, where I worked to expand opportunities for more than five million students nationwide and helped secure student loan forgiveness for one million public servants.
I have lived in House District 49 for more than fifteen years. I have served on the boards of American Gateways and Austin Voices. I met my husband, Gilbert, when we were both students at ACC. This is my community. These are my neighbors.
Now I am running for Texas House District 49 to ensure that every child learns in a fully funded school, every worker earns a fair wage, and every family has the opportunity to thrive.