Rebecca Morales

Rebecca Morales 

After graduating from La Jolla High School, I went to UCSD for one semester then transferred to UC Berkeley where I graduated with a B. of Architecture. My stay in Berkeley coincided with the Free Speech Movement and lasted till People’s Park. It was a very interesting time that opened my eyes to the Civil Rights Movement. 

From there, I went on to get an MA from UCLA and a PhD from MIT in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis on regional, industrial, and economic development.  My dissertation was on undocumented workers in a changing automobile industry, which led me a journey of studying Latinos in the US and internationally, labor markets and international migration, and the international automobile industry.  

For years I was a professor teaching, conducting research and writing about these subjects.  I obtained funding from major foundations and travelled the world as part of my work.  One of my favorite activities was designing the National Center for Industrial Innovation for the Mexican Sub-secretariat of Trade and Industry. Although I was married, we never had children and eventually parted ways. 

Since then, I have moved back to La Jolla where I have worked in development and as a curator for the San Diego Automotive Museum, among other things. I continue to write and have co-authored a book titled Stealing Cars -- a study of the history of auto theft in the US. It was published by Johns Hopkins University Press and came out in April of this year. All of my publications are on my website, along with a chronicle of what I’ve been up to – www.rebeccamorales.com. 

At present, I’m active in Kiwanis. I will be the President of La Jolla Kiwanis starting October 2014 and was a co-founder of a new Kiwanis club in Tijuana – the Kiwanis Club of La Joya de Tijuana -- that received its charter January 11, 2014. I’m a member of La Jolla Parks and Beaches and sit on the San Diego Mayor’s International Advisory Board.  And as part of the Centennial Celebration next year, I hope to establish a Centennial Innovation Prize. 

For fun, I play the folk harp and ride my bike. I share my house with two cats, Leo and Belle, and have a pipe dream of publishing suspense novels.