Cal-in-Sacramento

Irene Fernandez

Class of 2026
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

Irene Fernandez is a second-year double majoring in political science and psychology. Growing up in an immigrant household in Orange County, she witnessed first-hand the challenges underrepresented communities face. Coming from a predominantly Latine community shaped her interest in public policy and desire to serve others through public service. Her main policy interests include immigration rights, environmental justice, and criminal justice. On campus, she is an active member of ACLU, serving on the Racial Justice Committee. Being in the ACLU has...

D'Angelo Francisco Gonzalez

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

As a first-generation college student, D'Angelo is committed to increasing accessibility to public services for all communities. His interest in social welfare began from a young age, where he was inspired to help others through public service at the encouragement of his family and friends. As he progressed through secondary education, he grew interested in how public services operated and assisted disadvantaged communities, many of which were represented in his city. He participated in extra-curricular activities to gain firsthand experience of how social...

Lauren Ashley Gonzalez

Class of 2025
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

As the daughter of an immigrant father, Lauren is passionate about utilizing public service to fill in the gaps of unjust systems. Her background also includes family members exposed to environmental pollutants that had unjustly contributed to severe health problems. Due to her background, Lauren is focused on environmental justice and empowering disadvantaged communities. Currently, Lauren is majoring in environmental science and public health.

Previously, Lauren has worked in the ASUC Student Advocate’s Office as both a Financial Aid Caseworker and Director for...

Sam Greenberg

Class of 2022
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Sam Greenberg is a Political Economy and Urban Studies student who is passionate about solving California’s housing crisis and fixing its unsustainable, auto-dependent transportation system. He believes that California has failed to adequately expand its housing supply and that it needs to invest substantially in affordable housing. He also believes that California needs to expand and improve its public transit systems significantly to create a sustainable alternative to the private automobile....

Sofia Marie Greenwald

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2023 Schaeffer Fellowship

As the daughter of an immigrant mother and growing up 15 minutes away from the Southern border, Sofia’s upbringing included two very different languages and cultures. It is because of those unique experiences and interactions that she has always had a deep interest and understanding in the uplifting of her Latine community through policy and the field of law. Her personal experiences with challenges accessing professional opportunities and facing workplace discrimination, due to her background, further inform and inspire her undergraduate efforts. She works to increase access to...

Nathalie Guillen

Class of 2022
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Nathalie Guillen is a Latindigenous student studying Legal Studies and Public Policy. She was born and raised in San Francisco, growing up in a single-parent household headed by her mother (an immigrant from Peru) in the supportive-housing development on Treasure Island. Her low-income, first-gen status has played a major role in shaping her perspective regarding economic and racial justice and has heavily influenced her professional trajectory. Nathalie’s passion for social justice stems from...

Jonathan Gutierrez

Class of 2025
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

Jonathan Gutierrez-Lomelí is a first-generation Mexican-American from Long Beach, California. As the son of immigrant parents, Jonathan faced early on the trials and tribulations of community violence, machismo culture, and financial hardships. Because of his upbringing, he desires to become a beacon of representation for the Latino community in a white dominated political arena.

On campus, Jonathan is an HSF Scholar and a proud Hermano of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated. In developing his professional character, he has worked on...

Laila Hawa Hamidi

Class of 2026
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento

Laila Hamidi is a second year at UC Berkeley pursuing a simultaneous degree in environmental economics and Policy, and geography, with a minor in public policy. Growing up in a suburb in Orange, CA gave her personal experience with the crises of housing affordability and car dependence that threaten the future of our state. As an intern at the Orange County Transportation Authority, Laila worked hard to expand funding for rail transit infrastructure threatened by climate change in Southern California.

As a Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow, she hopes to gain more...

Bailey Henderson

Class of 2023
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Bailey Henderson is a junior studying Political Science and Global Studies. He was born and raised in Tracy, CA right outside of the bay area where he first experienced how politics disproportionately affects those in his community. Coming from a small town in the valley, he understands how the issues of those on the periphery can often be neglected and ignored by those in power, especially at the state level. He is most passionate about issues of education, affordable housing, and...

Yvette Hernandez

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Yvette Hernandez is a first-generation Chicana student majoring in Public Health and minoring in Public Policy. Yvette is passionate about making higher education and healthcare affordable for working-class families.

Yvette’s interest in improving the healthcare system began during her internship at a family medical clinic, where she experienced working with patients and saw firsthand the flaws in the system. The lack of diversity, the need for preventive care, and the growing number of...