By Alise Brillault, Communications Manager, UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative

November 29, 2021

Young Latino leaders are key to America’s future. As California’s plurality and the nation’s second largest ethnic group, Latinos were responsible for 51% of U.S. population growth in the last decade and represent an increasingly youthful and diverse population. More than half of young Americans are people of color, and six out of ten Latinos are Millennials or younger.

Yet, Latinos are underrepresented in leadership positions and overrepresented in low-wage jobs. Latinos only account for 1.2% of elected officials in the country. During a pandemic in which Latinos have been nearly three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to die from COVID-19, it is imperative that Latino communities see themselves and their needs reflected in political decision-making. Further, the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing economic inequities, even while Latinos serve as the economic drivers of America. In fact, if U.S. Latinos were their own country, they would have the 7th largest GDP in the world. Ultimately, the nation’s success is predicated on Latinos’ success, and these numbers remind us how critical it is to invest in young leaders of color.

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) recognizes the need to harness the talent and potential of young Latino leaders to bring us to a future where we all can thrive. Through its flagship student fellowship program, UCLA LPPI is training the elected officials and organizational leaders of tomorrow to center historically marginalized communities at decision-making tables. But the policy challenges that student fellows tackle are not just résumé boosters. The issues at hand are often deeply personal to them.

Bryanna Ruiz, Undergraduate student; Area of study: Major in political science, minor in Chicanx studies and public affairs; Expected graduation: 2022

For example, Bryanna Ruiz, an undergraduate fellow, had real worries about the health of her family members who were frontline workers. “My mother is a house cleaner, and at the beginning of the pandemic I was scared for her,” Ruiz reveals, also noting that her family did not qualify for the first rounds of CARES Act stimulus payments due to their mixed status. “In the pandemic, frontline workers were the largest impacted yet were treated as disposable.”  So, for fellows like Ruiz, it has been significant to be at UCLA LPPI as they conduct research on the effects of the pandemic on essential workers of color and convene advocates and policy leaders to identify solutions for protecting those workers.

Ruiz, who is now in her fourth year as a fellow, has also gotten hands-on experience with a variety of career paths that she never previously considered — from assisting co-founder Dr. Matt Barreto with mixed-methods research on automatic voter registration to aiding the communications team with report rollouts. “As a first-generation college student, it’s hard to picture oneself in roles not exposed to growing up,” says Ruiz. “I’ve discovered, for instance, that uplifting research through strategic communications is just as crucial as the research itself.”

The work has been so rewarding that Ruiz even decided to continue with her fellowship remotely while she studies abroad in Italy during UCLA’s Fall Quarter. “I didn’t want to miss out on important research around the 2022 midterm elections and the chance to engage in a collaboration between UCLA LPPI and the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program,” said Ruiz. The latter project seeks to uplift diverse Latino stories at this historic tipping point by collecting 1,000 oral histories.

Paula Nazario, Graduate student; Area of study: MPP (Master of Public Policy); Expected graduation: 2022

Graduate Fellow Paula Nazario also feels a direct stake in shaping a new Latino narrative with her work focusing on Latino economic issues. While contributing research to a report demonstrating that Latinas exited the workforce during the pandemic more than any other group, Nazario saw the same story playing out in her community, with women being disproportionately burdened by caretaking duties as schools went remote and childcare centers closed. “I saw how the pandemic hit women particularly hard in my neighborhood — everyone was relying on them for cooking, taking care of the children, etc., so, I was able to provide my own personal insight into that report,” said Nazario.

Nazario describes how support from Latina peers and role models at UCLA LPPI is guiding her own career path. She notes, “Seeing Kassandra Hernández getting a PhD in economics is inspiring, because I had never heard of a woman of color doing that before.”

Undergraduate Fellow Moris Gomez started a beauty salon business alongside his mother during the pandemic to support his family. During the process, Gomez began learning web development so that he could create a website for the salon, which ultimately sparked a passion for programming and design. Now as UCLA LPPI’s webmaster, Gomez describes how building on these skills in his fellowship is powerful for tackling policy issues that directly affect him and his community. He explains, “The connection to the data is very important because my community members are literally in LPPI reports. Knowing this information and disseminating it in a meaningful, accessible way can help the community.”

Moris Gomez, Undergraduate student; Area of study: Major in international development studies; Expected graduation: 2022

The community at UCLA LPPI also speaks to Gomez, who is undocumented. He reveals that he does not feel excluded or isolated. “I feel at home. Being surrounded by Latino professionals motivates me, and seeing Latinos with master’s degrees and PhDs makes me want to take it a step further,” said Gomez.

After graduation, Gomez wants to bring the skills he’s learned at UCLA LPPI to work that has a social justice perspective and direct impact on his community.

As America emerges from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, going “back to normal” will not be sufficient for achieving true equity. “Going back to normal for Latinos is marginality,” states Juana Hernandez Sanchez, UCLA LPPI’s director of programs. “What is needed is to disrupt the status quo by leveraging existing resources for a new pipeline of young leaders of color who can return to their communities with the relevant tools to tackle long-standing policy challenges.”

UCLA LPPI plays a key role in identifying and preparing this pipeline. Student fellows are supported with technical research training and the development of interpersonal leadership skills around communication, teamwork, professional network building and setting post-graduation goals. While encouraging students to lean into their lived experiences, UCLA LPPI is helping them find their place in the policy arena and identify ways to make a tangible impact that uplifts Latino communities and expands equity and opportunity for all.

Dr. Shannon Speed, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center and professor of Gender Studies and Anthropology, recently received the President’s Award from the American Anthropological Association (AAA) for her work bringing together scholarship and activism in advocating for Indigenous and Native American women. This award is given annually to encourage and reward an AAA member’s excellent contributions to the anthropological field.

To read more about Dr. Speed’s work and this award, check out the UCLA Newsroom article by clicking HERE.

By Alise Brillault, Latino Policy & Politics Initiative Communications Manager

As the nation has grappled with the health and economic outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic, an election marked by profound political polarization and a reckoning on race, the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) has been at the forefront of putting a bright spotlight on how these issues have impacted Latino communities in California and across the nation. As part of that effort, UCLA LPPI has highlighted unique perspectives aimed at identifying challenges, opportunities and solutions to move the work forward and create a future where everyone can thrive. These perspectives have included those of academics, labor leaders and elected officials, just to name a few. Recently, UCLA LPPI had the opportunity to hear from the philanthropy world when they sat down with Weingart Foundation* CEO and former UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Board Member Miguel Santana. During the conversation, Santana shared the importance of funding data-driven, Latino-led organizations to build a more inclusive economy and democracy. Check out the conversation (lightly edited for clarity) below.

*UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (UCLA LPPI) recently received $125,000 in general funding over two years from the Weingart Foundation.

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Alise Brillault: The Weingart Foundation’s main areas of focus are housing justice, immigrant and refugee rights and strengthening nonprofit effectiveness to build towards racial and socioeconomic justice. How does the work of UCLA LPPI as as a Latino-focused research center fit into the foundation’s mission?

Miguel Santana: The Weingart Foundation is committed to advancing social and racial justice in Southern California. For us, it is important that any work to deal with inequities in Los Angeles be based on data, analysis and best practices. The Luskin School of Public Affairs and UCLA LPPI are leading that effort.

We believe that to make change, there has to be an organized community on the ground – but there also need to be academic partners committed to advancing these issues using data analysis and research. Funding initiatives such as UCLA LPPI is part of a larger strategy to harness the power of data to make change in our communities.

AB: Why is it important to invest in Latino-led organizations such as UCLA LPPI?

MS: We strongly believe in supporting organizations led by the very communities that have been marginalized. Although Latinos make up about 50% of Southern California’s population, unfortunately, they are disproportionately reflected in poor outcomes in education, economic prosperity, home ownership, food security, and so many other issues. In short, the Latino community is not benefiting from the thriving economy of Southern California. We believe strongly that these issues have to be grounded in communities they are about. Supporting initiatives such as UCLA LPPI – whose research is being led by the best and brightest of the Latino community – is an important part of that mission.

AB: Can you tell us more about the Unrestricted Operating Support program that Weingart uses to enhance nonprofit effectiveness?

MS: We believe in nonprofit organizations – particularly those already meeting existing gaps due to systemic failures in the community. That’s why we work hard not to be prescriptive and to support organizations based on the idea that they know best how to use their dollars. Most of us at the Weingart Foundation came from the nonprofit world, so it’s important for us to take that experience and remind ourselves of what it was like to work in that space, which makes us very intentional about how to provide the best support necessary.

AB: Only 1% of philanthropic foundation CEOs are Latino, and Latino-focused organizations receive less than 2% of philanthropic funding. Is there a connection between representation at the top of foundations and the type of organizations that receive funding?

MS: For foundations like ours, it’s important that the organizations we fund look like and are led by the communities we support. Our Board of Directors has been very committed to leading on that effort. If we expect our funding recipients to have diversity in their boards and executive leadership, our board thought it was important that our foundation also look like and come from the community we serve to better represent the community’s perspective.

I’m very honored to serve as CEO of the Weingart Foundation. I’ve been in public service my entire career and have been the leader of nonprofit organizations. Frankly, though, my own lived experience growing up in Southeast Los Angeles County as the son of immigrants and the first in my family to go to college is more relevant than my degrees. Foundations committed to racial justice need to look like communities they serve. For me, I live in and work in the community, and it’s an honor to lead a foundation that is truly committed to racial justice.

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Founded in December 2017, through a partnership between the Luskin School of Public Affairs and Division of Social Sciences, the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative addresses the most critical domestic policy challenges facing Latinos and other communities of color in order to expand genuine opportunity for all Americans. UCLA LPPI believes that there is no American agenda without a Latino agenda. Funding from the Weingart Foundation will allow UCLA LPPI to expand its capacities for research, data collection, advocacy and leadership development activities as well as the growth of its staff.

 

LA Social Science interviewed Dr. Justin Dunnavant, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, about being an archaeologist who excavates histories on land and under the sea.

Interview Chapters:

0:00 – Intro

0:58 – Is there a book, music, or movie that helped you get through the pandemic?

1:45 – Tell me about what archaeologists do and what sorts of questions you’re exploring in your research?

3:19 – How did you get involved in scuba diving and what you do as an underwater archaeologist?

5:45 – Community engagement centers heavily in your work, how is archaeology relevant in the communities where you work, and humanity more widely?

7:40 – Tell us more about the work you’ve done with Hulu and other media outlets?

9:40 – Out of all the places you could have landed, what made you choose UCLA and what do you hope to get out of your experience in Southern California?

To learn more about Dr. Dunnavant, click HERE to visit his website.

Check out the recent UCLA Newsroom article on Dr. Dunnavant HERE.

 

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