2026 Summit Speaker Bios - Publish - Flipbook - Page 5
Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, Councilmember, Columbus City Council
Chair Public Service & Transportation Committee.
Vice Chair Economic Development and Small & Minority Business
Committee
Vice Chair Health, Human Services & Equity Committee
In November of 2021, Lourdes Barroso de Padilla made history by becoming the
ûrst Latina to be elected as a member of the Columbus City Council. She is a
bilingual, ûrst-generation Cuban-American who was born and raised on the
eastside of Columbus.
In her role on Council, Lourdes works to bring equity and pride to all residents. In
2022, Barroso de Padilla founded Columbus’ ûrst ever Latino Heritage Month
Parade and Festival. She also created the Latino Heritage Month committee that
plans and holds events to celebrate Latino cultures. In 2023, she spear-headed
legislation to level the playing ûeld for pay equity and prevent employers from asking applicants about
their salary history.
This year, Councilmember Barroso de Padilla will chair the Public Service & Transportation committee and
will vice-chair the Economic Development & Small Business committee. Outside of her work at Council,
Barroso de Padilla has an extensive background in youth development and leadership. Barroso de Padilla
has spent three decades working to improve the lives of kids through education with her work at City Year.
Barroso de Padilla currently serves on the Board for Ella, formerly the Latina Mentoring Academy, a unique
professional development and mentoring program for Latinas in Central Ohio that now has hundreds of
graduates.
Currently in addition to Council, she serves as Vice Chair of MORPC’s Regional Policy Roundtable, is a
member of the New Leader’s Council Advisory Board, and is a Greater Columbus Arts Council board
member. She resides with her husband, Ernesto, and daughters, Eva and Valentina in Eastmoor.
Maurice Beard | Sr. Workforce Development Advisor, International
Transportation Learning Center (ITLC): Transit Workforce Center (TWC)
Maurice Beard has more than three decades of experience in the
transportation industry. He began his career as a bus operator with the
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, California. Throughout his
career, Maurice advanced through several roles, including Line Instructor,
Transportation Supervisor (road), and Ofûce Supervisor, before becoming a
full-time Technical Trainer. In this role, he oversaw new operator classes and
contributed to VTA’s Joint Workforce Investment (JWI), a peer-to-peer
mentoring program. During the last 10 years of his tenure at VTA, Maurice
served as Technical Training Supervisor. He and his team focused on
keeping VTA’s operators informed about the latest industry knowledge and
training techniques. Maurice's expertise continues to beneût industry
stakeholders by supporting critical initiatives, including the establishment of mentoring and
apprenticeship programs.
