[4][5] Quezada pursued her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz,[4] graduating in 1975[6] with honors,[5] and received her master's from Cal State Sacramento.
[3] Before joining the school board she worked for the Chicana Service Action Center in Los Angeles[7] and as a community relations manager for the Carnation Company.
[8] She also served as president of the Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional in 1981, chaired Los Angeles County Californios for Fair Representation,[2] and worked as a coordinator and delegate for the 1984 presidential campaign of Walter Mondale.
[15] She led the board through some of its most chaotic years, which included a battle against state school vouchers (Proposition 174), teacher strikes, attempts to break up the district,[16] a controversial redistricting effort that ensured greater Latino representation on the board at the expense of the San Fernando Valley,[17] and $700 million in damage to district facilities caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
[16] In 1992, Quezada ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, for California's 30th congressional district, but she lost in the primary to Xavier Becerra.