Tara Repka Flores’ life was forever changed on October 7, 2019, when her 13-year-old son, Alec Flores, was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver while walking to school. The driver, a fellow parent at the same school, had her three children in the car at the time of the crash and fled the scene. Despite this devastating loss, Tara has channeled her grief into a powerful mission for change. Residing in California, Tara plays a vital role on MADD California’s Legislative Action Team, where she works tirelessly to influence policy and legislation to prevent impaired driving. She is especially passionate about advancing the implementation of the HALT Drunk Driving Act, a groundbreaking law that requires passive impaired driving prevention technology in all new cars, to eradicate impaired driving. In honor of Alec, who was an avid athlete, wrestler and football player, Tara and her family created a nonprofit – the Alec Flores Youth Sports Scholarship Corporation – which hosts a fundraiser called the 10 Fun Run (originally started as on online challenge during COVID called the 10 For Alec Challenge) that provides scholarships to young athletes. Tara’s proud to have supported over 450 young athletes in playing sports in Alec’s memory and views this endeavor as spreading light and positivity in the community. Professionally, Tara serves as vice president of information technology at Zenith Insurance. She is also an accomplished public speaker, having honed her skills with Toastmasters, a prestigious public speaking nonprofit. In addition, Tara brings valuable political insight from her experience as a paid intern for Congressman Vic Fazio.