Speakers

Cindy Montoya is a lifelong Angeleno from La Puente in the San Gabriel Valley. The daughter of working-class parents from El Paso, Texas, she is a proud first-generation college graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance.

Before transitioning into advocacy, Cindy had a distinguished 25+ year career in the performing arts. She performed and choreographed for international concert tours, film productions, television shows, and national commercials. Her collaborations include working with Paula Abdul, George Michael, director David Fincher, and comedian Dave Chappelle. A highlight of her career was co-creating a dance sequence with Paula Abdul for The Tracey Ullman Show, which won an Emmy Award for Best Choreography. Additional notable achievements include performing for King Charles, choreographing the 62nd Academy Awards, and choreographing the films Coming to America and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

In addition to her performance and choreography career, Cindy directed dance programs at the elementary through college levels and served on the selection panel for the UCLA dance team. She has been invited to teach at studios and dance conferences around the world.

In 2018, Cindy shifted her focus to gun violence prevention. She now serves as the State Co-Lead for the California Chapter of Moms Demand Action and is a Survivor Fellow with Everytown for Gun Safety. In 2019, Congresswoman Judy Chu honored her as Congressional Woman of the Year for her impactful work in the San Gabriel Valley.

As a survivor of gun violence, Cindy is dedicated to addressing its emotional, mental, and physical toll. She has been instrumental in advancing legislative change at local, state, and federal levels, including collaborating with school boards on secure firearm storage initiatives and advocating for increased funding for grassroots community violence intervention and prevention programs.

Serving her third term as a California Democratic Party delegate for Assembly District 41, Cindy continues to champion common-sense gun safety laws, support legislation that addresses the root causes of gun violence, and advocate for policies that uplift working-class families.