Wendy Maria Carrillo Dono (born August 10, 1980) is a Salvadoran-born American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 2017 to 2024.
[1] She was sworn into office by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on December 16, 2017, after winning the special election to succeed Congressman Jimmy Gomez.
Her mother immigrated to the United States when Carrillo was a child, as she felt it was unsafe to remain in El Salvador due to civil war.
[2] For ten years, she was the host and executive producer of a community based radio program called "Knowledge is Power" on KPWR 106 FM.
In 2014, she was the co-founder of now defunct Reported.ly, which was a social media startup that aimed at covering issues of conflict, human rights and political movements.
[3] In June 2023, during a protest led by UNITE HERE Local 11, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Carrillo after she refused to disperse.
[17] In November 2023, Carrillo was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after crashing into two parked cars and testing over double the state’s legal alcohol limit.