Miguel Aguilera 

A son of two immigrant parents, Miguel grew up in Lompoc, California and joined the U.S. Marine Corps straight out of high school. After four years and multiple combat tours of service, Miguel was honorably discharged and pursued a career as a law enforcement officer in Northern California from 2006 until his retirement in 2018. Throughout his law enforcement career, Miguel gained extensive experience in family violence, sexual assault cases, DWI investigations, search warrants, and was a certified drug abuse recognition expert. Miguel is a certified police academy instructor for the Napa Valley Criminal Justice Center and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, participated in the teaching of the “LGBTQ+ Awareness For Law Enforcement Course” for numerous California Law Enforcement agencies. 

After retiring from his law enforcement career, Miguel attended and graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law in June of 2020. While in law school, Miguel assisted veterans in obtaining discharge upgrades, and disability ratings as a member of the schools Veteran’s Pro Bono Legal Clinic. Upon graduation, Miguel accepted a position as an attorney for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice where he worked until he joined the Jorge Vela law firm in February of 2022. Miguel continues to serve our country as Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves with over 22 years of service.