Lana Zimmerman received her undergraduate degree in Political Science with a minor in sustainability from California State University, Northridge. Lana’s expertise merges a broad range of fields—from the arts to quantitative data analysis. Before joining the UCLA Luskin Master of Public Policy program, she worked in community organizing and managed a grassroots Congressional campaign in the San Fernando Valley. Following this experience, she served as a curatorial research assistant for the Self-Help Graphics & Art Pacific Standard Time exhibition. In her work as a researcher, Lana presented information on environmental racism and displacement in underserved regions of Los Angeles. In her first year at Luskin, she received the Graduate Opportunity Fellowship Award and worked as a policy fellow for the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians Environmental Protection Division, creating policy responses to development requests for Tribal comments. Lana recently served as the UCLA Bohnett Fellow for the United States Conference of Mayors, exploring the possibilities of local entertainment in the Metaverse. Lana currently works as a graduate student researcher for the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI), writing and editing tabulation code for the research team at LPPI and exploring census data. Lana is a first-generation college graduate from the San Fernando Valley and is deeply committed to serving this city through effective and equitable public policy solutions.

Please see Lana’s LinkedIn profile for further details.