Sydney Smanpongse (they/them) is a Master of Public Policy student with a concentration in labor and social policy. They graduated from UC Irvine in 2020 with bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science. They are currently conducting research on an Asian American racial justice project with the UCLA Labor Center under Director Kent Wong.

Andrew Rock is a Master of Public Policy student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, focusing on labor and employment policy. Prior to starting the MPP program, he worked at MDRC — a social policy research organization based in New York City. He currently works at the UCLA Labor Center as a

Ana Rodriguez (she/her) is a Master of Public Policy student with a concentration in social policy. She graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s in political science. She currently works as a teaching assistant for the Department of Labor Studies and as an outreach fellow for a nonprofit organization, Inclusive Action for The

Jack Kearns (he/him) is a Master of Public Policy student with a concentration in labor policy and social policy. He graduated from UCLA in 2020 with a bachelor's in political science, and worked as a line cook in the Los Angeles area post-graduation. He currently works as a graduate student researcher at the UCLA

Gloria Magallanes (she/her) is a Master of Public Policy student concentrating in community development and social inequality. She is currently a policy fellow at the Latino Policy and Politics Institute and a nonprofit leadership intern at StepUp. While at UCLA, she worked in the Chicano Studies Department as a teaching assistant and participated in

Aryon Shahidzadeh is a Master of Urban and Regional Planning graduate student interested in innovative models for community ownership and affordable housing development. Prior to graduate school, Aryon was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs and his rotations included working at Innovative Housing Opportunities and the City of Glendale’s City Manager’s Office. Before moving

Adria Stauber is a graduate student in Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA, concentrating in urban design and real estate development. Prior to starting graduate school, she worked as a community planner at TransForm, and on the real estate team at Habitat for Humanity. Currently, Adria works with the transportation team at AECOM, where

Alyssa Suzukawa (she/her) is a graduate student studying urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is interested in the relationship between transportation and housing, including understanding the impacts of transit-oriented development in communities of color. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she is concerned about issues of gentrification and displacement,

Jo Dine is a second-year master’s student in urban and regional planning at UCLA, with a concentration in transportation policy and planning. Her primary interests are at the intersection of housing and transportation policy and how they both can promote or hinder mobility justice. She has been working in communications at the UCLA Institute

Gabriella Carmona is  pursuing a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA and holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Williams College. She leverages urban design and policy as an opportunity to combat social and economic injustice — from democratizing data that brings to light spatial disparities to empowering communities