Rita Joiner Soza is a Southern California native with deep roots in the eastside of Los Angeles. While attending East Los Angeles College in the late sixties Soza was a student of Helen Miller Bailey, Ph.D. In 2005 Soza began a teaching career herself and a decade-long research project to bring to the light the incredible impact Dr. Bailey had on thousands of students before the professor’s death in 1976. Soza published “Helen Miller Bailey: The Pioneer Educator and Renaissance Woman Who Shaped Chicano(a) Leaders” in 2015.
Soza wrote and directed a one-hour dramatic reading from Dr. Bailey’s biography. Soza and six faculty colleagues performed the program on three occasions at MiraCosta College. An audio version of the play enhanced the re-dedication of the Helen Miller Bailey Library at East Los Angeles College in 2012 (see Books – Doc’s Magic).
Before teaching, Soza enjoyed a ten-year career in corporate advertising and motion picture public relations in Los Angeles. After relocating to San Diego in 1984, she began a second career in human resources management with Emerson Electric Co. She retired from the company in 2002 to pursue a lifelong dream of full-time teaching. She earned tenure at MiraCosta College in 2010 and is an avid supporter of the college foundation. With a master’s degree in business administration from UC Irvine, Soza has also taught human resources management at UC San Diego and CSU San Marcos.
Soza retired in 2018 to focus on writing and volunteering. In 2019 Soza and veteran journalist Frank Cruz published his memoir, “Straight Out of Barrio Hollywood.” Soza has begun a third book. Although set again in Los Angeles’ eastside, in this work Soza transitions from biography to historical fiction.
Rita has been married to Geoff Soza since 1983. They share love for their daughters—Sunny Elizabeth and Jessica—as well as traveling, organic gardening, their pets, and real estate investing.