Jennifer Tien Tran

Jennifer Tran (she/her) is a rising junior at UC Berkeley, studying education sciences and political science. As a first-generation student coming from a low-income, majority-minority community, Tran is passionate about rectifying the inequities of the education system. Her experiences in education inform all areas of her work–past, present, and future. In high school, Tran served as the Student Board Member for the Garden Grove Unified School District during the 2021-2022 school year, representing more than 40,000 students in Orange County, California, after creating the position in her district. In her term, she removed barriers to queer safe-space adornment, reformed district student voice procedures, and passed three pieces of state legislation improving access to K-12 civic opportunity.

Currently, Tran serves as the Chief of Staff of the Academic Affairs Vice President within the Associated Students of the University of California, where she works with faculty and administration to elevate student voice in academic climate, curricular, and admission reforms with a focus on inclusive and equitable higher education, administrative, and student systems. Additionally, she organizes civic engagement initiatives and voter registration on campus and in the wider Berkeley area as the Director of the UC Berkeley Vote Coalition.

After finishing her undergraduate program at Berkeley, Tran hopes to pursue a masters and Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Policy with the end goal of working in public education administration, reform, or policy. She hopes to utilize the cohort model, alumni mentorship, and financial support provided by the Schaeffer Fellowship to expose herself to opportunities in public service that she otherwise would not have the chance to experience. Tran is a field expert in student education policy and a lifelong advocate for an equitable, co-created education system where students, faculty, and administration work intergenerationally to better educational institutions for all.