Placement: White House Internship Program, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Placement Location: Washington, DC
Carlos is a first-generation Latinx student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Chicanx Latinx Studies. Born and raised in the California Central Valley, he is the son and grandson of farmworkers. His paternal grandfather was in the temporary agricultural worker program known as the Bracero Program, and first came to the United States in 1952. His maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s, and were fieldworkers before finding jobs as cannery workers in Thornton and Lodi, CA. His family history and passion for public service inspire Carlos to focus on the intersections of immigration, labor, and environmental policy.
In summer 2023, he worked as a Policy Intern for the City of Berkeley in the Office of Mayor Jesse Arreguín. As an intern, he conducted outreach for United Against Hate (UAH) Week, a Northern California anti-hate crime initiative. He also supported the mayor’s Senior Advisor in creating a pro-immigration policy package for the city.
As a 2024 Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow, Carlos interned for the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), where he worked closely with the center’s organizing and policy teams to promote the rights of CA immigrant communities. As the 2024 Kenneth Burt Fellow, his research project focused on civic engagement among Latinx and Indigenous farmworkers in Napa and Sonoma.
Carlos is participating in the Fall ‘24 UCDC Program and interning for the White House and the Biden-Harris Administration. He works in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, which ensures that the Administration is connected with our local, state, territorial, and tribal governments. In the spring, Carlos will be working with the 2025 Cal-in-Sacramento cohort as Student Director. He looks forward to engaging with fellows through mentorship and community-building.
Major(s): Political Science
Minor(s): Chicanx/Latinx Studies