Cesilia Fernandez is a first generation Mexican-American, with her parents immigrating to the United States in the late 1980s from Michoacán, Mexico. Her parents settled in Salinas, California. Cesilia was the first person in her family to graduate from high school and attend college. She earned a dual Bachelor of Arts from California State University Chico, majoring in International Relations and Spanish. Cesilia’s desire to attend law school was shaped by her experience of growing up as the daughter of migrant farm workers.

​During college, Cesilia studied abroad for one year in Madrid, Spain, and worked for a legal non-profit. After learning about the European legal system and hearing the stories of immigrants exiled from Spain, Cesilia returned to the United States eager to pursue a legal education. Cesilia worked for a public defender for two years in Butte County prior to starting law school. After her work there, her passion for criminal justice reform became the foundation of her drive to pursue a law degree. 

In 2015, Cesilia joined Golden Gate University School of Law, where she found her passion for trial work, advocacy, and the world of public defense. During her time at GGU, Cesilia participated in two criminal mock trial competitions held in Washington D.C, and New Haven, Connecticut. She was a moot court member and served as a certified bar clerk for the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender and the San Francisco Public Defender’s office. Cesilia was a student leader at GGU. She served as the Vice President of the Student Bar Association and was in charge of overseeing all student-led organizations on campus. Cesilia also held executive positions with La Raza Law Students Association and served as a teaching and research assistant. After clerking her 2L summer for the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender Office, Cesilia was offered a post-bar position after the 2018 bar exam. Cesilia is eager to graduate and serve her community as a public defender.