Los Angeles Regional Institute - 2025 Cohort

Genesis Coronado (she/her/ella) is a longtime public servant with over a decade of experience in government relations, community outreach and policy analysis. She currently serves as the Legislative Analyst for the Office of Government Relations at the Los Angeles Unified School District. In her prior role, she led stakeholder engagement as the Outreach Director for the LAUSD Redistricting Commission. Genesis has also served as a community liaison for the offices of former Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard. Outside of work, Genesis is passionate about promoting civic engagement and advocating for increased political representation for unincorporated communities. As a young Latina invested in her community, she ran for the California State Assembly in March of 2024 and initiated a people-powered movement that outlived her campaign. Most recently, she organized her community around the issue of fiscal accountability and transparency for East Los Angeles. Genesis holds an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Political Science from Occidental College. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and admiring the beautiful California landscapes.

Nangha Cuadros, MPP, is a Health Justice Fellow for the Latino Coalition for a Health California (LCHC). Nangha is also a Policy Analyst at AltaMed Health Services, one of the largest; Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the United States. Prior to working at AltaMed, Nangha was a Research Fellow at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) and the UCLA Bixby Center on Population and Reproductive Health. At LPPI, Nangha conducted research on past Medi-Cal expansions, California’s Medicaid Program, which were summarized in a policy brief published in July of 2023. Nangha received her Master of Public Policy degree at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where her concentrations were in Health and Technology policy. As a part of her Master’s capstone project, Nangha worked with a team to see how Illinois’ Medicaid program impacted undocumented immigrants’ access to preventative care services in regards to treating chronic diseases. The capstone was used to support bills that called for Medicaid expansion to 19-41-year-old undocumented immigrants in the Illinois State Legislature.Nangha is a first-generation college graduate and was born and raised in the East Bay. She is a daughter of immigrants from Peru and saw her mom fall in between the cracks of a poor health care system. After witnessing how COVID-19 disproportionately affected Latinos in California, especially essential workers like her parents, Nangha decided to go to grad school to pursue a career in health policy. Her lived experiences drove her to want to find the best policies to remove health disparities and increase access to quality health care among immigrants and other marginalized communities.

Yessenia Cux is the Communications Coordinator at the Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM), where she leads the organization’s communications strategy and manages social media platforms. She also represents COFEM on the Immigrants Are Los Angeles Coalition (IRLA) Communications Subcommittee, where she contributes to shaping the coalition’s messaging and outreach efforts to support immigrant communities. She has played a key role in advancing the IRLA coalition’s campaigns, advocating for immigrant rights and social justice at the county level; Yessenia recently graduated in June 2023 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), earning a double major in Political Science and Spanish, Community, and Culture. While at UCLA, she balanced her studies with various jobs, gaining firsthand experience in community outreach, advocacy, and communications. Her academic and professional experiences reflect her deep commitment to addressing social inequalities, especially those affecting immigrant and marginalized communities. During the pandemic, she contributed to Avance Latino’s efforts by conducting door-to-door canvassing and phone banking, educating LA residents on COVID-19 prevention, testing, and vaccination. Yessenia also played a key role in mobilizing households to participate in the U.S. Census, ensuring underrepresented communities were accurately counted. Originally from Totonicapán, Guatemala, Yessenia immigrated to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2016. As an Indigenous Maya woman and immigrant, her personal experiences have fueled her passion for social justice and advocacy. She is deeply committed to empowering marginalized communities, ensuring that immigrants have a voice in policy discussions and access to resources.

Emilia Fergadiotti is a Field Aide and Caseworker for the Office of Congresswoman Barragán (CA-44) with over two years of experience in public service. Emilia is a Field Aide for the community of Wilmington, regularly attending community meetings and addressing community concerns. In addition, she oversees the Homelessness, Housing, and Education portfolio in the office. When constituents are in need of federal assistance, Emilia connects them with different federal agencies to ensure constituent requests are being addressed. In her free time, Emilia enjoys hot yoga and reading self-help books.

Victoria Gomez is the Deputy of Health and Wellness for the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor, Holly J. Mitchell. As a proud Latina, she is dedicated to advancing the wellness of her community through her community driven work. Victoria utilizes an intersectional approach to develop equitable health policies that enhance nutrition, maternal, reproductive, sexual, and senior health outcomes for Black and Brown communities. Prior to this role, she served as the Deputy of Constituent Casework, where she was the liaison between Los Angeles County departments and Second District constituents, resolving issues within Los Angeles County jurisdiction. Victoria earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Arizona State University and her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Laura Gonzalez works as a Senior Program Manager at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator managing programs that support founders of startups and small businesses. She is also an adjunct instructor of journalism at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. At the beginning of her career, Laura worked as a visual journalist for the Imperial Valley Press, where she created award-winning multimedia stories on topics about education, health, immigration, and agriculture, among others; and for La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States. Laura joined the nonprofit industry in Los Angeles more than a decade ago, where she has worked developing programs for youth and media. She has also worked on Economic Development and Policy initiatives that have created opportunities for communities of color in Los Angeles such as the Sidewalk Vending Pilot Program for the Los Angeles County. She is passionate about creating opportunities for girls and women, the arts and media, economic development and youth development for immigrant communities and communities of color. Laura earned a master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship from USC Marshall School of Business.

Yaritza A. Gonzalez was born and raised in Inglewood, CA to Mexican immigrants from Guadalajara, Jalisco, and is a proud role model to her two younger sisters. Yaritza earned her BA in Geography with a minor in Public Policy from Dartmouth College and MPP from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She currently works as a Policy Manager at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA) in Los Angeles, CA, where she advocates for policies that advance immigrant rights at the federal, state, and local level. Yaritza is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the ING Fellowship, whose goal is to inspire, nurture and guide young people in Inglewood, CA, to organize, mobilize and address different issues that affect the community. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and running throughout Los Angeles with her husky: Oreo.

Bertha is the Executive Director for NPower in California, in this capacity she leads operations across the state, serving over 350 people annually with both technical capacity training and tech-employment pathways. NPower is a registered California Division of Apprenticeship Standards provider. Bertha is an accomplished nonprofit executive with over two decades of experience dedicated to broadening access into the STEM workforce. She has a proven track record of translating concepts into reality, driving strategic planning, and achieving high-performance management. Her career has focused on building STEM talent capacity through evidence-based full-cycle programs. A seasoned fundraiser, she has raised over $34 million for workforce initiatives. Bertha’s dedication and career trajectory within the national workforce system was recognized when she was honored as the 2023 Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) Woman of the Year. She holds both an MSPA and a BS from California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). She is also an alumni fellow with the Southern California Leadership Network (SCLN) and has earned executive certificates from the Multicultural Women’s Executive Leadership program, and from Harvard Graduate School.

Angelica Hernandez currently serves as a Policy Consultant for the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works – Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL). In her current capacity, she leads the Digital Inclusion divisions’ efforts working on grant and project management, helping to secure funding for infrastructure construction using the bureau’s assets to create digital equity in Los Angeles. She specializes in legislative affairs, public policy, law, public relations and political campaigns. In addition, she is an Executive Fellow with FUSE, a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to engage communities, advance racial equity, and work more effectively for everyone. She is a former Policy Deputy for the California State Senate where she specialized in K-12 and Higher Education, Water, Healthcare, Immigration, Latino & Native American Affairs. Ms. Hernandez attended UC Irvine School of Law, obtained both her Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) and Bachelors in History & Political Science: Pre-Law from Cal State LA. She is a past MTO Law Fellow with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, a Galbraith Fellow with the Pat Brown Institute and Senate Fellow. In her free time, she volunteers with various nonprofit organizations advocating for social justice, and civil rights.

Kristie Hernandez has over 20 years of experience in government relations, public affairs and community engagement spanning across the non-profit, public, and private sectors. She is proficient in legislative affairs and advocacy including local, state, and federal government affairs, public policy, strategic communications, and community development. She has a demonstrated background in corporate social responsibility, K-12 education, civil rights, healthcare, defense, and aerospace. Kristie has a strong track record of successful collaboration with community and business leaders, veterans and military personnel, and elected officials.

Kristie’s most recent work experience includes advancing the mission of aerospace leader The Boeing Company through government and community relations. She helped establish UCLA’s Veterans Affairs Relations Department and managed the relationship between UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Administration. Kristie served in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Department of Defense supporting the Office of Legislative Affairs as a liaison to U.S. Congress. She advocated for medically vulnerable communities at the largest federally qualified health center in the nation, AltaMed Health Services. Kristie also represented the Senate Majority Leader of the California State Legislature, and facilitated education initiatives at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Her passion blossomed from uplifting students at the second largest school district in the nation, the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Kristie carries over her passion for advocacy to promote community engagement in her hometown of East Los Angeles. She serves on several non-profit boards in the Greater Los Angeles area, including the Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA and TELACU Education Foundation. She is also the President of her local Neighborhood Community Advisory Committee.

Kristie earned her Master of Public Administration with a Certificate in Public Policy from the University of Southern California, and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a proud California native from Unincorporated East Los Angeles, where she currently resides.

Candace is a native of Compton and began organizing in 2019 to educate, empower, and mobilize residents. She built relationships with local and state officials to establish a strong pipeline of communication and information for community members. Recognizing her passion for advocacy, she founded the Compton Advocates Coalition as a nonprofit in late 2019. The organization is dedicated to fostering positive change in Compton and surrounding communities. Candace serves on the Women’s Commission for the 65th Assembly District, serves on the boards of Alma Backyard Farms and the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles and is a member of the Steering and Community Partner Advisory Committees for Vote Early Day. Additionally, she is a Subcontractor Administrator for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). In 2020, Candace shared her journey of advocacy as a speaker at TEDx Compton Blvd Women. In 2024, Compton Advocates secured a brick and mortar location in Compton as part of the Compton Wellness Center. The location will be opening in September of 2024. Candace is married to her husband Carlos, mother to two sons William and Noah and grandmother to Audrey.

Martha Maldonado is a Financial Services Professional with 19 years of experience in the retail banking industry. She currently serves as the VP and Branch Manager of the California Credit Union’s Downey branch. Martha holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in human services. Her passion for helping people is evident in the way she advocates for clients, guiding and educating them toward financial success; Martha’s dedication to helping others is rooted in her background as a first-generation immigrant, a mother of a child with special needs, and someone who has experienced childhood poverty. During her tenure as a Branch Manager, Martha and her team have achieved high levels of success in sales, service, membership growth, and retention. This is attributed to the supportive and caring culture provided to the staff and clientele at the Downey branch, leading to a steady flow of referrals. Martha actively participates in business development throughout the community, engaging in chamber events, job fairs, academic decathlons, and outreach to local city officials. She also serves as a Board Member with Lynwood Partners Educational Foundation and is a member of the group Long Beach Professional Women for Good, which focuses on fundraising efforts for various charitable organizations.

Diana’s commitment to lifting up the voices of the community began in Wilmington as the youngest community organizer and Honorary Mayor of Wilmington, CA. Diana continued organizing with the California State Assembly where worked with leaders in various cities and neighborhoods to advocate for the advancement of education equity, immigration justice, supportive services, and reentry programs. Her experience in the public and non-profit sector led her to serve as Neighborhood Revitalization Manager with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles leading the implementation of an innovative framework to improve the quality of life of residents in the city of Long Beach through sustainable partnerships and creating a model for collaboration across neighborhoods. Today she serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carson overseeing the organization’s government and public relations, expansion, and sustainability efforts. Her passion lies in her creative ability to connect people and showcase the assets each community, organization, and city has to thrive.

Dr. Julia Mockeridge, DPT is the Health Deputy for Los Angeles County (County) Supervisor Janice Hahn. In her role, Dr. Mockeridge prioritizes creating and supporting policy that ensures County residents have equitable access to quality healthcare. Major policy efforts that Dr. Mockeridge has been involved include addressing medical debt, ensuring healthcare benefits for contract employees, ending the local emergency to COVID-19, and work on the County’s response to Exide. Prior to her current role, Dr. Mockeridge was a Physical Therapist for the Department of Health Services at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, specializing in acute rehabilitation. Outside of her professional roles, Dr. Mockeridge is engaged in her community through local social justice organizations; she is a board member for two non-profit organizations centered on people with disabilities, she is on a disability accessibility and accommodations advisory committee; and she volunteers for political campaigns and equity-focused organizations. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from University of Southern California and a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from California State University, Northridge. Dr. Mockeridge is a proud resident of Los Angeles County, where she was born, raised, and lives with her family.

Mariana Nunez is a current Master of Public Administration student at the University of Southern California, working towards a career in local government administration. She is currently a Norman Topping Fellow and City/County Management Fellow at USC and works as a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate students. After graduating from UC Irvine with her Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Criminology, Law and Society, Mariana worked as an Intern on ACLU SoCal’s Criminal Justice Team, advocating for the rights of incarcerating individuals. As an alumna of the UC Labor Summer Program, Mariana has experience working with local and state government officials and community-based organizations to advance socially inclusive and economically just policies and agendas. Mariana is an LA native, and she is looking forward to being a part of HOPE LA Regional Institute to develop the skills that can contribute to the betterment of local government.

Montserrat Pineda is a North Long Beach native who grew up in the Ramona Park Neighborhood and is the proud daughter of Salvadoran immigrants. She was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from the University of Redlands with a BA in Political Science. While at Redlands, Montserrat championed other first-generation students through Students Together Empowering Peers, led the social justice and diversity-focused siblinghood WRW, organized efforts around civic engagement, advocated for Cal Grant increases with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and was chosen as the Commencement Speaker for her class. Pineda remained dedicated to her local community by interning for Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, and Congressman Alan Lowenthal, working at the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, and organizing food distribution drives and civic engagement activities in Long Beach. Soon after graduating, Montserrat joined Rex Richardson’s Mayoral campaign as a Volunteer Coordinator and then Campaign Organizer. Pineda is proud to represent her community at the Mayor’s office and begin her career in Public Service.

Most recently, Roxanne was the Vice-President of International Formats for Paramount Global. She held this position since 2006 and has travelled the world selling and producing formats from the vast libraries of CBS, Showtime, and Paramount+ From stellar scripted series titles like, Ray Donovan, (dropping in 2023 for Netflix India / the first SVOD format streaming deal for the group), The Affair, and The Good Wife, to non-scripted titles from the famed reality juggernaut, America’s Next Top Model, to iconic games like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! – all becoming local version faves! Her territories include Europe, Africa, The Middle East, India, and Latin America. She attends MIPTV and MIPCOM in Cannes, NATPE in Miami, and MIPCancun annually. Roxanne began her career in local news at KTLA Channel 5 then turned to the lighter side of entertainment and comedy as the Associate Producer of “Comedy Compadres” – the Stand-Up Comedy Show for Tribune that rocked the ratings and jump-started the careers of many Latino / Latina comedians. Her keen eye for spotting up and comers was instinctual and moving over to Tri-Star Television, she helped to develop and produce two sit-com pilots under the Valdez Productions banner for NBC. The success of Comedy Compadres paved the way for Showtime’s – Latino Laugh Festival. From comedy, she transitioned into game and reality shows, producing Newlywed and Dating Game for the Telemundo-Sony Network. The game shows led her into formats and selling content to the international marketplace, where she became Director of Format Sales and Production for Sony International Television in 2001 and remained there until CBS hired her. She is a proud native Angeleno, a second-generation Mexican American who was most recently named one of The Imagen Foundation’s “Powerful and Influential Latinos in Entertainment” for 2018, 2019, 2021 and is a member of The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, & The West Coast Co-Chair of Paramount’s “SOMOS” (Multicultural Employee Resource Group) committee. Roxanne believes that Diversity, Equity and inclusion is imperative in all areas of our lives from business, education and politics. Never one to slow down, she is a huge music afficionado, attending seventeen Coachella Music and Arts Festivals and is always ready for life’s next adventure.

Genesis Rodriguez is a Public Affairs Specialist III with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, a public agency responsible for managing wastewater and solid waste for 5.5 million people in LA County. In her role, Genesis oversees LACSD’s advertising program ($300,000 budget), coordinates outreach for household hazardous waste events (~65 events annually) throughout the County and plays a key role in outreach for construction, crisis communication, special projects and for neighboring communities. Genesis attended Long Beach State University, majoring in Economics with a minor in Communications, while working at a local business consulting and property management company. There, she was responsible for writing and submitting proposals to cities on behalf of clients. Her volunteer work includes teaching children how to read and write Spanish, helping peers with resumes and providing guidance on obtaining jobs in the public sector, and helping run local political campaigns. The daughter of Salvadoran immigrants who fled the country during its Civil War in the 1980s, Genesis is the last of three children. She resides in her hometown, South Gate, with her parents and two dogs, Fiorella and Dakota. Genesis loves to travel and she enjoys experiencing restaurants all over the world.

Stephanie Tapia Onate serves as a Communications & Policy Coordinator at Alliance for a Better Community (ABC), where she champions digital equity and multilingual learner initiatives. She serves as a representative for ABC in multiple coalitions and as co-chair of the Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success. Before joining ABC, Stephanie was an Outreach Specialist at All4Kids, where she built partnerships with schools in Central and South Los Angeles to provide free mental health services to students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she spearheaded outreach efforts to reach low-income Spanish-speaking families and worked to demystify mental health for parents. A proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and a native of Los Angeles, Stephanie is a first-generation college graduate. She holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Public Affairs and a Master of Public Policy from UCLA. Stephanie is passionate about advocating for equitable, community-driven policies to ensure that communities like the one she grew up in are not left behind and breaking down barriers to higher education.

Ms. Salas is currently the Business Operations Manager for ISANA, a non-profit charter management organization that runs six high-quality tuition-free public charter schools throughout Los Angeles County. She joined ISANA in 2014 as a Community Liaison because she was passionate about closing the education gap in underserved Los Angeles communities. Since 2014, Ms. Salas has served in other capacities at ISANA, including Board Secretary and Executive Assistant to the CEO. Before joining ISANA, Ms. Salas was the Graduate Fellow for JusticeCorps and NLSLA at the Pomona Court House. Here she helped thousands of self-represented litigants navigate the legal system by helping them complete court forms and explaining the process for each case. She was also the first JusticeCorps member to collaborate with the court’s Facilitator program. Her collaboration model was later used at other court centers countywide. Ms. Salas graduated from UCLA with a major in Sociology, and a minor in Public Policy; Urban Regional Studies. She received her MPA from CSUN.

Keyla Santisteban, a Los Angeles native, is an experienced educator with over 10 years of dedication to creating inclusive and impactful learning environments. She specializes in planning, implementing, and assessing culturally sensitive projects, driven by principles of social justice and neurodiversity.With a strong background and interest in leadership in schools and policy, Keyla has also excelled in designing and executing marketing strategies to promote educational platforms and services, leveraging newsletters, presentations, and social media to enhance engagement.As a Spanish Program Developer for young learners, she integrates innovative teaching methodologies and technology into a standards-aligned curriculum, boosting student participation and enthusiasm. Keyla’s commitment to continuous assessment ensures ongoing program improvement.Additionally, she is an accomplished e-learning designer, developing engaging online courses focused on universal design, neurodiversity, and social justice. Keyla also supports teachers by providing effective strategies to elevate instructional practices, with a focus on equity and social-emotional wellness.Her mission is to create positive, impactful learning experiences while supporting schools and districts in enhancing teaching practices through evidence-based approaches.

Adelita Simon is a seasoned Senior Program Director with a decade of experience in project management, currently serving at Del Sol Group in Monterey Park, California. Since 2021, she has excelled in managing client relations, project and data management, and contract deliverables, focusing on small business engagement and community outreach campaigns. Her leadership in the Los Angeles vs Hate campaign with the County of Los Angeles Office of Education highlights her ability to manage large-scale public awareness initiatives.Before joining Del Sol Group, Adelita was the Program Director at New Sanctuary Coalition from 2018 to 2021. There, she led a national initiative, overseeing pro se clinics that trained asylum seekers on federal laws and engagement with the U.S. government. Her role involved coordinating international efforts, developing training curricula, and conducting workshops for volunteers.Adelita’s earlier roles include serving as an Administrator Fellow at Border Angels in 2018, where she managed volunteer recruitment and public relations, and as a Phonathon Receptionist for the Alumni Association at Mount Holyoke College in 2017. Her commitment to equity and economic mobility, particularly for marginalized communities, is evident throughout her career, as she actively contributes to dismantling systemic barriers and fostering sustainable growth.

Elba Mineva Solis is a dedicated educational professional with a passion for guiding students toward academic and personal success. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Counseling from National University and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from UCLA, Elba has built a career focused on supporting the needs of diverse student populations.Currently serving as the Puente Project Counselor at La Serna High School, Elba manages programming for Puente students and coordinates the Women’s English Learner Development program. Her previous roles include positions as an Intervention Counselor and Title 3 Categorical Counselor, where she specialized in supporting English Learners, foster youth, and homeless students.<br />Elba’s expertise extends beyond traditional counseling, encompassing college advisement, admissions, and career guidance. She has a proven track record of developing innovative programs, such as pioneering a scholarship program for DACA students, coordinating pre-orientation events, career fairs and contributing to district-wide college fairs.&nbsp;With a holistic approach to student support, Elba Solis continues to make a significant impact in the lives of students and our community. Her bilingual skills in English and Spanish enable her to effectively identify students and family needs. <br />On more than one occasion, Elba has fostered inclusive environments that demonstrate her leadership abilities bringing teams of people together to create a culture of care and collaboration like when she organized a large-scale food distribution event to address food insecurity, or when she organized a holiday adopt-a-student campaign which led to providing holiday gifts for 47 foster care and homeless students.

Mayra A. Varillas Cilia is an Indigenous, first-generation, and undocumented woman from the Mixteca Poblana region of Mexico. She is currently a first-year Master of Arts student in UCLA’s Department of Education and serves as a graduate student researcher at the UCLA Labor Center. Before beginning her graduate studies, Mayra worked as a research analyst at the UCLA Labor Center, leading research and evaluation initiatives using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Before that, she was a Decision Science Product Consultant at The Walt Disney Company, where she led analytics projects on ESPN+ content creation, consumer analytics, and the automation of financial processes for streaming services (ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+), contributing to key business decisions; During her undergraduate years at UCLA, Mayra engaged in academic and nonprofit research across fields such as biostatistics, education, labor, and policy. She worked with organizations like CHIRLA, CARECEN, and the Garment Worker Center, which have made significant impacts on the communities she belongs to. Mayra is deeply passionate about using education as a tool to create meaningful change for vulnerable communities, a passion reflected in her diverse and impactful work experience.

MJ Vides is a Senior Program Associate with Vera California, a place based initiative of&nbsp;the Vera Institute of Justice- a national non-profit organization working to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, and build safe, thriving communities through policy, advocacy, and research. At Vera, MJ supports campaign development, advocacy initiatives, and power building in Los Angeles and the Bakersfield/Kern County regions to advance care first investments and jail closures.<br /><br />Before joining Vera in 2022, MJ was a fifth-grade reading teacher in Dallas and, more recently, a policy advocate with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. Her work in Los Angeles County helped secure an investment in legal services for immigrant communities through Represent LA. She also played a key role in advocating for pandemic recovery investments as part of the Immigrants Are Los Angeles campaign.<br /><br />In addition to her work at Vera, MJ is a member for the Florence-Firestone Participatory Budget Advisory Committee, a pilot project sponsored by Los Angeles County’s second supervisorial district. MJ holds a BA in public policy analysis from Pomona College and an Master of Education from Southern Methodist University.