Democracy Camp in DC

Daniel Munoz

Class of 2023
2022 Democracy Camp in DC

Danny is a transfer student who identifies as re-entry, first-generation, and formerly incarcerated, among other marginalized populations. Raised in Oakland and San Leandro, California, a disadvantaged family dynamic has caused him a great deal of adversity. After decades of going back and forth to jail and a violent lifestyle, in 2016, Danny was shot five times. In 2018, Danny made the decision to pursue higher education, with goals of giving back to his community.

Now, as a Sociology Major and Public Policy Minor at UC Berkeley, Danny aspires to not...

Bianca Torres Murray

Class of 2024
2022 Democracy Camp in DC

Bianca is a proud Mexican-American from Echo Park, Los Angeles. Her ancestors’ grit and determination greatly inspire her. Also, Bianca is a second-year Ethnic Studies major who’s passionate about social justice and community engagement. Specifically, she’s interested in the intersections between race and public policy and how policy impacts peoples’ lives. Bianca has had many experiences working to change policies for the better. As a high schooler, after being denied the opportunity to run for a board seat on her local neighborhood council due to her...

Sarah Michelle Orozco

Class of 2024
2023 Democracy Camp in DC

Hi, I’m Sarah Orozco. I’m a 1st-gen, low-income, Oaxaquena Senior transfer student from UC Berkeley. My family is from the Sierra Norte region in Oaxaca, Mexico, a small pueblito called San Mateo Cajonos. I’m majoring in sociology and plan to attend graduate school to get a PHD in Education. I'm apart of many communities on campus, such as EOP, transfers, basic needs center, DSP, and also most importantly uplifting the Oaxacan community at CAL and the bay area. I am currently involved in 3 position in the Center for Educational Equity and Excellence: at the Transfer student...

Amya Parks

Class of 2025
2024 Democracy Camp in DC

Amya Parks (she/her)

I'm currently a third-year student at UC Berkeley, pursuing a double major in legal studies and African American studies. Raised in Los Angeles by my single mother, I am deeply committed to addressing the critical human rights challenge of homelessness. My firsthand experiences have vividly highlighted the alarming ease with which individuals can find themselves without stable housing.

I am driven by a passion to develop sustainable solutions to this pressing issue. I firmly believe that the federal government must prioritize addressing the housing crisis...

Janet Mendoza-Partida

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship
2023 Democracy Camp in DC

Janet Mendoza-Partida is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley studying legal studies and Chicanx/Latinx studies. She was born and raised in Watsonville, California by Mexican migrant agricultural workers. While in high school she volunteered at multiple elementary and middle schools around her community, leading her to understand the educational disparities predominantly impacting students of color, and prompting her to develop a passion for educational equity. During the summer she continues to serve as a mentor, translator, and educator in...

Kim Ngan Pham

Class of 2025
2023 Democracy Camp in DC

Ngan Pham was born and raised in Vietnam and immigrated to the States in 2019. Growing up in a working-class family, Ngan deeply acknowledges the transformativeness of public education. It drives her to develop a strong commitment to bringing more educational access to marginalized students and increasing student retention and completion for higher education. Her post-graduation goals are to obtain a Master’s degree in counseling or a PhD in educational leadership.

While at UC Berkeley, Ngan is striving to get exposed and involved in different settings and areas...

Jocelin Robles

Class of 2022
2022 Democracy Camp in DC

Jocelin Robles is a first-generation Latina from East Oakland majoring in Ethnic Studies and minoring in Education. As someone from a low-income immigrant family in the Bay, Jocelin has first-hand witnessed how local and federal governments inflict economic, social, and political injustices within her community. Her upbringing as someone who struggled due to intersectional identities has driven her to pursue opportunities that allow an in-depth understanding of education, immigration, and basic needs policies. More so, Jocelin believes in...

Alexander Rodriguez

Class of 2022
2022 Democracy Camp in DC

Alex Rodriguez is a Latinx, first-generation student majoring in Legal Studies and double-minoring in Education and Global Poverty and Practice. He grew up in a lower working class community in South Central Los Angeles in his immigrant household. Considering his background, Alex is interested in becoming a civil rights attorney to make strides within the legal system to help undocumented, poor, and non-English communities through legal advoacy and activism. Alex has interned with the ACLU of Northern California, ACLU California Action, UC Berkeley...

Ash Rosas

Class of 2024
2024 Democracy Camp in DC

Ash Rosas (she/her)

Ash is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, studying legal studies. She was raised in a working-class community in Los Angeles, where her passion as an organizer and researcher flourished. She began working with grassroots youth organizations that focused on the impacts of climate change on communities of color and environmental policies in Los Angeles County. Her experience as a community organizer influenced her research, as she now focuses on labor and worker rights.

At UC Berkeley, she joined the Latinxs and the...

Mansour Taleb-Ahmed

Class of 2024
2024 William K. (Sandy) Muir, Jr. Leadership Award
2024 Democracy Camp in DC

Mansour Taleb-Ahmed (he/him)

Mansour’s journey began in a high school where whispers of "far-fetched" threatened his Berkeley dream. Extraordinary challenges marked his undergraduate journey. Arriving in the US in January 2020, he faced the pandemic in absolute isolation, knowing no one in the country and having no access to see his family back home. In community college, he also questioned his place in academia as he didn’t see many people who looked like him in his classes. Yet, fueled by a desire for representation, he turned his ambition into action; as a Campus Ambassador and...