Former L.A. High and UCLA standout Anita Ortega to retire from LAPD
One of the great role models for women in Los Angeles, former Los Angeles High and UCLA basketball standout Anita Ortega, is retiring this summer from the Los Angeles Police Department after some 30 years of work. It’s fitting she’s a captain, because that’s what she was on the basketball court.
She was part of UCLA’s 1978 national championship team. She arrived as a walk-on from Los Angeles High. During career day in high school, an FBI agent made a presentation, and that helped propel her to law enforcement.
She rose to captain in 2002 and is currently in charge of recruitment. She’s also a top referee for NCAA women’s basketball. She was inducted into the City Section Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Here’s the link to a 2003 profile I wrote about Ortega.
Hopefully, she’ll be around giving lots of speeches to high school athletes in the future telling them they can be anything they want with hard work.
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