I went to public schools my entire life. I earned my degree from Cal Poly Pomona. I built a career in commercial banking, helped businesses grow, and helped create jobs in communities across Southern California.


Now my daughter sits in a classroom right here in Orange County, and I see what families across Orange Unified are up against.

Parents deserve to know what their kids are being taught. They deserve a board that manages taxpayer money with discipline and honesty. And they deserve someone who has lived the promise of public education — and will fight to protect it.

That's why I'm running.

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About Ivan

Business background

Ivan Kokos arrived in the United States from Argentina at one year old. He grew up in public schools, watched his father work construction and his mother stretch every dollar to support their family, and became the first in the Kokos family to earn a college degree. That background didn't just shape his character. It shaped how he sees money, work, and responsibility.

Over the last 15 years, Ivan has built a career as one of Southern California's most trusted commercial bankers for businesses across nearly every industry — family-owned restaurants, manufacturers, aerospace companies, healthcare providers, construction firms, and franchise operations. When a business owner is in a bind, Ivan is the person they call. He knows that behind every business loan is a payroll — and behind every payroll are families in this community. He doesn't just finance businesses. He helps create jobs. And he will bring that same results-driven discipline to every dollar the OUSD budget touches.

Community Involvement

Ivan has been an active part of the Anaheim business community for several years — first as an Ambassador with the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, then joining its board with a clear commitment: help expand the Chamber's reach and drive real economic opportunity for businesses and workers in Anaheim.

His community involvement runs deeper than the boardroom. Through his local church in Anaheim, Ivan participates in outreach throughout the year — including Serve Your City, where volunteers go directly into underserved neighborhoods to hand out shoes, food, school supplies, and offer free haircuts to families who need it most. For someone who came to this country with nothing and built a life here through hard work, community, and the opportunity this nation provides, that service is personal. He knows what it means to need help — and what it means to be the one who shows up to give it. That's the standard he will hold himself to as an OUSD board member.

Family Man

Ivan and his wife Cynthia married in 2007 and have called Anaheim Hills home since 2011 — putting down roots here long before a school board race was ever on the radar. They have two daughters — a 13-year-old in 8th grade and a 10-year-old in 5th grade — both attending school right here in the Orange County. Their family doesn't watch from the sidelines. They're in the PTA, at every school event, actively supporting teachers, and giving generously to the schools their daughters attend.

Like many families in this district, they have also faced challenges within the system firsthand. When their daughter began struggling academically, Ivan and Cynthia didn't wait — they requested meetings with school leadership and worked with staff to build a real plan. That experience gave Ivan something no policy paper can provide: a parent's ground-level view of how this district responds when a child needs more. He knows what it feels like to sit across the table from administrators and advocate for his daughter. He will bring that same advocacy — backed by the financial expertise, the leadership experience, and the personal story to make it matter — to every decision made in that boardroom.

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