Jesus Villegas was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and moved to New York with his family in his early teens. In 2002, the Army stationed him at Fort Lewis – now part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord – where he served as a 42-A Human Resources Specialist. In 2004, he deployed to Iraq for a year. When his active-duty contract was complete, Villegas decided to make Washington state his home. 

For the past 15+ years, Villegas has worked for Lakewood’s Clover Park School District in various roles, including as a para-educator and as a family involvement coordinator at several elementary and high schools. Now he is the Student Services Support Specialist at the district level, where he works to support the McKinney-Vento (homeless) program, foster care students, truancy prevention, and the Title VI Native American Education Program. Governor Jay Inslee has recently confirmed Villegas as the newest member of the Clover Park Technical College Board of Trustees.  

As a teenager, Villegas was part of the Figures-In-Flight Dance School directed by Susan Slotnick, and as an adult has taught dance and performed with the Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma. Villegas fuels his own passion for the arts through acting, dancing, and drumming. He has been a drummer for several churches and small bands, and even spent some time as a top DJ with the Direct Sounds DJ company before it moved to Arizona. Villegas draws upon this background in performing arts to deepen connections within the school district and to the local community, leading after-school clubs, including Hip-Hop music and dance, Latino Unidos, Technical Theatre, and a drug- and alcohol-prevention club.