Schaeffer Fellowship

Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service

Chloe Park

2023 Schaeffer Fellowship

Having grown up in the Albany-Berkeley area her whole life, Chloe is passionate and fond of the Bay Area’s urban spaces—the bustling culture, events, and diversity. However, along with urbanism often comes a heap of social issues—including discrimination, poverty, and housing crises—that have severely impacted the Bay Area’s vulnerable communities. As a result of her close proximity to these issues, Chloe is striving to learn about the complexities and causes of these urban issues, as well as discover the ways that policy, city planning, and data analysis can address them. At UC Berkeley,...

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...

Brayan Ramos

2023 Schaeffer Fellowship

Brayan is a first-generation Mexican 3rd-year college student at UC Berkeley, the son of a migrant field worker and construction worker, from South Sacramento, California. Proudly of Michoacán diaspora, Brayan is committed to working to empower working-class, immigrant communities.


In South Sacramento, Brayan has worked on various community-oriented projects centered around equity including as a member of the Grants Advisory Board for the Youth (GABY) in partnership with the City of Sacramento. GABY has worked historically in the South Sacramento area to...

Daira Rivera

Class of 2024
2023 Democracy Camp in Berkeley Student Director
2023 Democracy Camp in Berkeley
2022 Schaeffer Fellowship
2022 Democracy Camp in Berkeley
Placement: Placement Location:

Daira grew up in Hayward California and her parents are from Nayarit Mexico. She is currently a senior attending UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science with a minor in public policy. Her career is geared towards being a civil rights attorney and one day working in public policy. Throughout her upbringing, she became aware of the systematic failures that affect low-income POC and wants to dedicate her career to aid the effort in changing them. She ultimately wants a career in public service that will fulfill her...

Anahi Ruvalcaba

2023 Schaeffer Fellowship

Anahi has alway been an advocate for others, in fact in her mothers home is a third grade report card with the additional comment which reads “Outspoken in areas of justice, Anahi’s an advocate for all who need a voice”. As the granddaughter of immigrants, system-impacted youth and former community college student, Anahi Ruvalcaba is dedicated and passionate about the issues of higher education affordability and accessibility and juvenile justice reform.
Anahi began advocating for students as an intern for her community college's Public Policy School (PPS). Lobbying for...

Jasel Rosadele Steinmetz

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship

As the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Jasel discovered her passion for social justice advocacy at a young age. The generational struggle of racial injustice experienced by her mother, grandmother, and family extended beyond her own story, echoing the immigrant experience worldwide. Driven by her passion to help her community, she engaged in voter outreach and canvassing to amplify Latine representation and catalyzed educational policy reform, through the piloting of Ethnic Studies and restorative justice training in her district. Ultimately, these experiences inspired her to...

Ricarda Suarez

Class of 2026
2025 Schaeffer Fellowship

Ricarda Suarez is a first-generation college student at UC Berkeley, pursuing a degree in Political Science with an emphasis on Chicanx Studies. Raised between Santa Rosa, California, and Guanajuato, Mexico, her lived experiences inspire her dedication to advocating for social equity, labor rights, and economic justice. In the summer of 2024, Ricarda participated in the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project Comcast Fellowship, interning in Assembly Member Mike Gipson’s office.

Her professional experience extends to supporting immigrant...

Robson Swift

Class of 2022
2022 Democracy Camp in Berkeley
2022 Schaeffer Fellowship
Placement: Bay Area Air Quality Management District Placement Location: San Francisco, California

Robson is a rising senior double majoring in Sociology and Political Science. He wants to either become a lawyer or work in government, but in any career path Robson hopes to participate in public service and improve the community around him. Robson' s passion for public service began in high school when he ran anti-LGBT bullying workshops at his high school. That experience lead him to advocate for student voice in his district...

Jennifer Tien Tran

Class of 2026
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship

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...

Maissa Trujillo

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Maissa is a third year political science major, also minoring in political economy, at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a first-generation college student from San Bernardino, where her upbringing sparked her passion for public service and how policy can impact communities like hers. Maissa has had the privilege of participating in the Cal-In-Sacramento Fellowship, as well as interning with the Bay Area JusticeCorps program. These extracurriculars, along with others, have allowed her to explore her passions concerning criminal justice and immigration reform, breaking...