Cindy Montañez (January 19, 1974 – October 21, 2023) was an American Democratic politician who was an Assemblywoman from California's 39th State Assembly district, serving for four years, from 2002 until 2006.

In the Spring of 1993 she was one of five students to join a hunger strike in protest against a decision by UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young against the creation of a Chicano Studies program on campus.

The hunger strike ended after 14 days with the creation of the César E. Chávez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction in Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCLA.

[3] Montañez resigned from the San Fernando City Council in late 2002 when she won a seat in the California State Assembly, and de la Torre was recalled in 2012 amid a sex scandal.

[10][11] After leaving the Assembly in 2006, Montañez was appointed to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

In March 2016 Montañez was chosen to be the CEO of the environmental advocacy organization TreePeople, which is located in Los Angeles at Coldwater Canyon City Park in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains.

Patrick Salazar, the founder, stated that her unparalleled network and visionary support for the Latinos LEAD concept were crucial to the organization’s successful launch.