Readers Are Leaders!
Join Dr. Victor Rios at Santa Barbara Unified’s 2nd Annual Family Literacy Festival!
📅 Saturday, March 7, 2026
🕙 1:30PM
📍 Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St.
Readers Are Leaders, Join Dr. Victor Rios at Santa Barbara Library for a book reading!
Dr. Victor Rios will be joining Santa Barbara Unified School District’s 2nd Annual Family Literacy Festival to read his new children’s book, Victor Is Not My Name! This book is a powerful story about being proud of where we come from, resilience, and believing in our voice and leadership.
📅 Saturday, March 7, 2026
🕙 1:30PM
📍 Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St.
About the Book
About the Book: Victor Is Not My Name! tells the true story of a young immigrant who arrives in the United States from Mexico facing poverty, self-doubt, bullying, and a deep belief that he is destined to fail. Ashamed of his background and even his own name, he struggles to see any future for himself. Everything begins to change when a caring teacher recognizes his potential and challenges him to see himself differently. By learning to embrace his name, Victor, meaning “winner,” he begins a journey toward confidence, resilience, and success.
About Dr. Rios
A tenured and award-winning professor at UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Rios once stood on the edge of fatalism as a high school dropout and juvenile delinquent. Defying the odds, he earned his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and became one of the nation’s leading researchers on at-promise youths, resilience, and educational transformation.
Today, Dr. Rios partners with school districts and superintendents nationwide to dismantle systemic barriers and ignite new pathways to prosperity, well-being, and academic success for at-promise students and their families.
A sought-after keynote speaker and trusted advisor, Dr. Rios equips education leaders with actionable strategies to inspire hope, build strong relationships, and create school cultures where all students thrive—especially those growing up in poverty, trauma, or marginalization.
Through compelling storytelling, research-driven insights, and a profound understanding of the challenges educators face, Dr. Rios empowers districts to reimagine discipline, increase engagement, and improve outcomes for young people growing up in struggle. Dr. Rios inspires transformation, and delivers the roadmap to achieve it.
