Roberta, her husband James Grimes and their two children have lived in Pasadena for over 20 years.  The children have both attended Pasadena’s public schools.  Roberta has been an active member of our community, having taught as a substitute and classroom teacher in both the PUSD and Private schools- from preschool through high school.  She has been a energetic community volunteer for the past decade, serving on many community boards and commissions, including the education Committee for the Pasadena Museum History, City of Pasadena Arts Commission, Armory Center for the arts, YWCA Racial Justice Committee, PUSD’s Commission on School Choice.  In 2002, Roberta received the YWCA’s Woman of Excellence Award and in 2003 was selected as the 29th Congressional District’s Woman of the Year.

Roberta and James Grimes, married for 26 years, have lived 23 of those years in Pasadena. Their younger child Matthew lives with them, attending PCC and working part-time in Altadena. Their elder child Kate, her husband Matt and their daughter Lili live in Portland, Oregon.  Kate and Matt earned their MA from UCLA, School of Public Affairs: in Social Welfare and in Public Policy: Education.

Roberta and James’ first years in Pasadena centered on family. The focus changed with the needs of growing children and aging parents: Pete and Nellie Martinez moved into their home.  During this time Roberta earned her MA in Music History from UC Riverside and Matthew joined the family.

As Matthew grew older Roberta gradually worked more outside the home.  Kate became involved in Girl Scouts and Roberta became a troop leader, a Neighborhood Chairperson, Council Representative and eventually a delegate to the Girl Scouts’ National Convention.

She was hired as a teacher of Spanish language to grades 3-6 and then as a Preschool teacher at St. Mark’s Episcopal Day School.  Since teaching language acquisition was common to both she was able to transfer many skills from one setting to the other.  Students, parents, and community members were frequent contributors to the classroom; their experiences and expertise were shared with the students and the school community. 

Thanks to St. Mark’s policy of supporting professional development Roberta attended Extension Courses offered by UCLA with a focus on Early Childhood Development.  She earned the Basic Core Certificate, completed work on the Advanced Core, became certificated as a Great Books Leader and as an administrator of the Gesell Developmental Observation. 

She meets former students who tell her how much the experience they had in preschool or Spanish Class – most importantly, the critical skills they developed - had a positive impact on their lives.  In her final years at St. Mark’s she served on the Long Range Planning Committee as it deliberated plans for facility and grade expansion.

After she left St. Mark’s Roberta became active in the Latino Community.  Transferring her skills from music historian to community historian she researched and was curator of “The Pasts Lives Vividly in the Present: a history of the Latino Community in Pasadena” at the Pasadena Museum of History.  She has been a guest lecturer at many organizations and schools.  A partial list includes programs or lectures at Cal Tech, Leadership Pasadena, Pasadena Museum of History, Los Angeles Trade Tech College, University of San Diego Extension, Pacific Oaks College, Rotary Club of Pasadena, Muir High School, and Madison Elementary School.

She has been a volunteer host/producer of the cable access television show Casa Martinez. The show focuses on arts, culture, heritage, and history. Close to 150 shows have been taped over the last 8 years with guests Larry Mantle, Herbert Siguenza, Suzanna Guzman, Cy Wong, Bill Deverell, Val Zavala, and Raul Rodriguez among others. She served on the Pasadena Community Access Corporation board because of her production experience.  Roberta has coordinated or produced aspects of Pasadena events and is a founder of the Latino History parade and jamaica.

She was nominated for and appointed to the Pasadena Arts Commission for 5 years. She was vice chair for 2 years and Chair for 2 years.  During this time Cultural Nexus - a plan supporting and invigorating existing cultural assets while generating increased participation ad leadership communitywide - was incorporated into the City of Pasadena General Plan.