Alex Padilla

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He/Him/His

California Secretary of State

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California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla is focused on modernizing the office, increasing voter registration and participation, and strengthening voting rights. He sponsored legislation in 2015 to establish vote centers, expand early voting, and implement same-day conditional voter registration through the Voter’s Choice Act. In 2018, he launched the California Motor Voter program, which automatically registers eligible Californians to vote when they obtain or renew their state ID or driver’s license. The program registered one million new voters in its first year alone. Secretary Padilla oversaw the state’s historic General Election in 2018 where 64.5 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. This represented the highest turnout for a Gubernatorial Election since 1982. In February of 2020, California reached a record of more than 20.6 million registered voters. Previously, he served two terms in the San Fernando Valley in the California State Senate and represented the east San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles City Council. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended local public schools, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering.

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Lizette Mata

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She/Her/Hers

Deputy Secretary of State for Operations

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Originally from Stockton, CA, Deputy Mata graduated from UC Davis with degrees in International Relations and Spanish with a minor in Latin American Hemispheric Studies. She is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Operations where her role is to ensure the everyday functions and needs of the agency are fulfilled. She also oversees special projects, such as the 2020 Census and the California Students Vote Project. Prior to being at the Secretary of State, she was appointed as Deputy Director of Special Projects for the California Department of Motor Vehicles by Governor Edmund Brown Jr. She oversaw the communications and outreach strategy for the implementation of AB 60 (Alejo). This historic bill authorized the California Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver licenses to the undocumented community in California. Deputy Mata also served as the Director of Policy and Strategic Planning for Board Member Fiona Ma at the California State Board of Equalization. Apart from working in executive branch, Deputy Mata also has experience working in the legislative branch where she served as a Communications Director and Legislative Consultant for several state Assembly Members and Senators, such as Fiona Ma, Ricardo Lara, John A. Pérez, Karen Bass, and Fabian Nuñez. She also served as a Committee Secretary for the Veteran Affairs Committee.

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James Schwab

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He/Him/His

Chief Deputy Secretary of State for Policy and Planning

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James Schwab is Deputy Secretary of State for Policy and Planning for California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, where he oversees implementation of recent election reforms. Mr. Schwab previously served as Chief of Legislative Affairs where he managed the agency’s legislative agenda and monitored State and congressional legislative proposals. Prior to working for the Secretary of State, Mr. Schwab worked in the State Capitol as a legislative staffer for several years. In addition to his state service, he has also managed the field campaigns of several legislative and city council races in Sacramento County. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and affairs from the University of California, Davis.

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Dr. Karthick Ramakrishnan

 

He/Him/His

Professor, UC Riverside
Director, Center for Social Innovation-UCR and AAPI Data

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Karthick Ramakrishnan is a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside, and founding director of its Center for Social Innovation. He has published many articles and 7 books, including most recently, Citizenship Reimagined (Cambridge, 2020) and Framing Immigrants (Russell Sage, 2016). He has written dozens of op-eds and has appeared in over 1,000 news stories. Ramakrishnan was  named to the Frederick Douglass 200 and is currently working on projects related to racial equity in philanthropy and regional development. He holds a BA in international relations from Brown University and a PhD in politics from Princeton. Ramakrishnan serves on the Board of The California Endowment and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni, chairs the California Commission on APIA Affairs, and serves as director of the Inland Empire Census Complete Count Committee. Ramakrishnan directs the National Asian American Survey and is founder of AAPIData.com, which publishes demographic data and policy research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.   

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Søren Whiting

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He/Him/His

Vice-Chair, UCweVOTE

Legislative Director, UCSC's Student Union Assembly

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Currently serves as the Vice-Chair of UCweVOTE and Legislative Director for UCSC’s Student Union Assembly (SUA). Has worked in the past with UCSC’s SUA as an advocate for local initiatives that expand student access to local offices and committees. This year he is working to mobilize/create UC campus coalitions to be ready for the upcoming and future elections through the expansion of digital resources.

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Nic Riani

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He/Him/His

CALPIRG Students Board of Directors Chair

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Nic is a 4th year Public Affairs Major at UCLA and the CALPIRG Students State Board Chair. Nic is also the campaign coordinator for the New Voters Project at UCLA working with the BruinsVote Coalition. He got involved his freshman year working to secure commitments from California and the University of California for 100% clean electricity. Since then, he has helped win campaigns to make UCLA a certified bee-friendly campus, helped thousands of UCLA students register to vote, and worked with reporters and coalition partners as a national spokesperson for the Student PIRGs New Voters Project. As CALPIRG Students Board Chair, Nic is responsible for coordinating the statewide student leadership team, working with the Organizing Director and student Board to make campaign and organizational decisions, and representing the organization at conferences and meetings across the country.

 

Shayna Lynch

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She/Her/Hers

Associated Students President at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

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Shayna Lynch is from San Jose, California and serves to empower the student voice through all aspects of campus. In addition to serving as the ASI President, she is involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and has done Irish dance her entire life. She is minoring in ethics, public policy, science and technology and hopes her future career allows her to advocate for the well-being of others. This year, she’s serving as the student co-chair for the ASI Alumni Council. In her free time, Shayna enjoys going to the beach, concerts, and baking.

 

Tariq Azim

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He/Him/His

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Tariq Azim is an undergraduate transfer student at the University of California, Davis studying Political Science. He transferred from Chaffey College where he served on the executive board of the student body association. He currently serves as the Immediate Past Executive for the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, where he previously held the positions of Interim Vice President of Regional Affairs, Chair of the Equitable Practices Committee, and Legislative Affairs Director. As a first-generation student, Tariq is dedicated to increasing equitable opportunities for students and aspires to continue his work in public service and community development upon completing higher education.

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Abrelle Negrete

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She/Her/Hers

University of La Verne Office of Civic and Community Engagement Student Lead and
AGF Vote Everywhere Ambassador

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Abrelle Negrete is a sophomore majoring in Elementary Education at the University of La Verne who hopes to one day become an Elementary School teacher and impact students positively the way her own teachers did for her growing up. She is the youngest of six other siblings and the first person in her family to be going to college. Being a first generation student she has fully immersed myself in college by being involved on campus as a Housing Resident Assistant, Housing Office Assistant, Office of Civic and Community Engagement Student Lead, and an Andrew Goodman Foundation Vote Everywhere Ambassador.

 

Miyako Iwata

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She/Her/Hers

Founder & Student Lead at PAC-12 Voting Challenge

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As the Vote Coalition Director for the Associated Students of University of California (ASUC) and an Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Ambassador, Miyako Iwata has been instrumental in working with her peers to design and implement strategies to increase student voter turnout at UC Berkeley. Miyako is also the Founder of the PAC-12 Voting Challenge — a friendly, cross-campus competition aimed at increasing student voter turnout across the West Coast, and leads the PAC-12 Student Working Group. 

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D'Aungillique Jackson

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She/Her/Hers

President, Fresno State NAACP

California State University, Fresno

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D’Aungillique Jackson currently serves as the President of the Fresno State Chapter, the Youth & College Third Vice President of the California-Hawaii State Conference, and a National Civic Engagement Trainer for the Youth and College Division of the NAACP, she has dedicated her free time serving her local, statewide, and national community. Ms. Jackson was most recently the lead organizer of the #WeCantBreathe Protest in Fresno, California which has been the city’s largest peaceful demonstration yet garnering over 3,500 attendees. She continues to push for change and currently serves as the youngest Commissioner and only female Sub-Chair for the City of Fresno’s Commission on Police Reform (CFCPR). She is the chair for the Community Input Sub-committee of the Commission.

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Ben Mendoza

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They/Them/Theirs

Community Programs Advisor, UCSD Student Promoted Access Center for Education & Service

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Ben Mendoza (pronouns they / them) is a non-binary, queer, Latinx community activist that is passionate about facilitating leadership and identity development work as well as advocating for an intersectional approach to justice. This passion has empowered them to serve as the Transgender Program Coordinator for San Diego Pride, Board Member on the City Heights Town Council, and graduate of the Victory Institute which prepares present and future LGBTQ candidates to build winning political campaigns. They are currently the Community Programs Advisor in the Student Promoted Access Center for Education & Service at the University of California San Diego where they proudly work alongside student leaders working everyday to bridge educational equity.

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Emily Thomas

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She/Her/Hers

University of California, Riverside '22

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Emily is a 3rd-year undergraduate Public Policy student at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).  She is currently the Civic Engagement Director for the Associated Students of UCR.  Emily is a longtime resident of the Inland Empire and started organizing around voting in high school. Since then she has continued informing and organizing students on the importance of voting and participating in their government and communities.

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Brianna Carmen

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She/Her/Hers

Director of Organizing and Partnerships, Voto Latino Foundation

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Brianna Carmen is the Director of Organizing and Partnerships for Voto Latino Foundation (VLF). She was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where she first became acquainted with community issues and their connection to the ballot box. This interest led her to become one of the youngest Latinas in the nation to manage a successful U.S. Congressional race, at the age of 21. Brianna later worked on an historic Senate race in Texas, engaging tens of thousands in the Lone Star State. She has maintained her passion of connecting voters with opportunities to exercise their voice at Voto Latino Foundation.

 

 

Her current work at VLF focuses on managing the Campaigns Team, tasked with building up the organization’s volunteer network all over the country. She is also a leader in Voto Latino Foundation’s voter registration programs, working to engage grassroots, corporate, union and celebrity partners to support efforts to register 500,00 people and turnout 1 million voters for the 2020 General Election.

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Kat Lockwood

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She/Her/Hers

CALPIRG Students Director

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Kat Lockwood is the Director for CALPIRG Students. In this role she trains and manages organizing staff, develops campaigns, and works with the student Board of Directors. Kat has been organizing for over a decade to mobilize thousands of young activists to win real results for the environment and the public interest. She has run successful campaigns to ban plastics to protect the Pacific Ocean, to pass the state's landmark commitment to 100% clean electricity, and to register thousands of youth voters. 

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Nicol Perez

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Program Manager, Facebook Education

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Nicol leads Facebook's Civic Education Program focused on working with expert non-profits to increase access to civic education for under-represented minority students, providing young people with the skills and resources to use social media for meaningful civic engagement, and leading co-design sessions with expert partners and product teams at Facebook focused on civic engagement.

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Moises Gonzalez

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He/Him/His

Intern, Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action (CILSA)

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Moises Gonzalez is a Junior at Saint Mary’s College of California, and he is completing a Major in History with a Minor in Music. Moises is a Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action (CILSA) Intern working with the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. As an avid member in his community, Moises has worked diligently with election offices and voter engagement groups finding it rewarding to spread awareness, information, and resources about upcoming elections. Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree, he looks forward to his future as a successful lawyer.

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Catherine Fish

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She/Her/Hers

Managing Director, ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

 

Catherine (Cat) Fish, managing director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge at Civic Nation, has 10 years of experience in organizing, politics, and advocacy. Prior to joining the Challenge, Fish worked at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, a sexual health advocacy organization. She also served as a policy aide and scheduler at the U.S. House of Representatives for Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) and worked on several political campaigns, including as a political assistant at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and as a field organizer for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Fish received her BA in political science from the University of Puget Sound and her MSW in nonprofit management from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Fish is a 2016 New Leaders Council Fellow and served on the advisory board of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition.