Professor Lydia Ortega earned her doctorate in economics from George Mason University in 1987. She is an economist, an educator, a businesswoman, a public speaker, fundraiser, and an innovator. Whether in the classroom, the boardroom, or on a stage, she aims to make a difference by promoting strategic thinking about the vital role of free markets and the sanctity of individual liberty. She served for 15 years as the Chair of the Department of Economics at San Jose State University and in that time created the only free market department on the West Coast. She has served on several public boards, including as founding member of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley and of the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Silicon Valley. In 2018, she ran for California’s office of Lieutenant Governor with the goal of applying her insider knowledge to bring real change to academia as the taxpayer’s representative on the University of California Board of Regents and California State University Board of Trustees. Her economic expertise positioned her to effectively consider benefits and costs on the Commission on Economic Development. Professor Ortega is currently developing education materials to reawaken the questioning mind and to effectively teach complex problem-solving. She is politically active at the grassroots level and is the incoming Treasurer for the Hispanic Republican Club of Northern Texas.