Archive for category: MPP Alumni Awards

Irma Castañeda is a second year Master of Public Policy candidate at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her experience as a first-generation college student has driven her passion to advocate for higher education policies that increase college access and affordability for underrepresented students. Irma has conducted research with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to inform program practices that increase community college access and preparation. During her time at Luskin, Irma has been an active member of Policy Professionals for Diversity and Equity, serving as Outreach Co-Chair this year and helping to recruit a diverse MPP cohort. Last year, she participated in student advocacy efforts through her role as Organizing Director with the UCLA Graduate Student Association and volunteering with the First Generation Graduate Student Council.

Prior to graduate school, Irma worked as a case manager for Child and Family Guidance Center where she advocated for clients and linked them to resources in their communities. Irma also has experience as a college advisor, guiding underrepresented students through the college application and financial aid process. In her free time, Irma enjoys trying out all the boba and ice cream places in her neighborhood, latin dancing, and listening to podcasts.

Please visit Irma’s LinkedIn for more on their professional experience.

Sandeep Prasanna is a Senior Advisor at Miller & Chevalier Chartered, a Washington, DC-based law firm, where he focuses on congressional investigations, internal investigations, and other complex civil litigation matters.

Prior to joining Miller & Chevalier, Sandeep was an Investigative Counsel on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. In that role, Sandeep conducted depositions and interviews of nearly 100 witnesses, provided strategic and legal guidance on novel congressional investigations issues, managed the intake and follow-up for thousands of confidential tips, and worked closely with the legal and communications teams to produce the Committee’s public-facing work, including the nationally televised hearings and the final report.

Sandeep has significant government and political experience. As a day-one presidential appointee in the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sandeep guided several nominees through the Senate confirmation process, providing them with strategic advice on political and legal issues, preparing them for hearing testimony, and helping them develop bipartisan relationships and support in Congress. He also represented DOJ on Capitol Hill, engaging often with elected officials and their staff on proposed legislation and congressional oversight. Previously, as the top counterterrorism advisor to Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) on the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Sandeep led investigations, hearings, and the successful passage of several House bills, often working closely with the minority staff and external stakeholders to win bipartisan support.

Sandeep began his career in government as a legal advisor to two senior senators. As a Judiciary Committee aide to Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sandeep advised on judicial nominations and civil rights issues and drafted landmark hate crimes legislation that was signed into law in 2021. Subsequently, Sandeep served as the top legal advisor to former Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), providing policy and political guidance on a range of sensitive issues.

Sandeep is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches a seminar on ethics, professional responsibility, and career development.

In addition to graduating from the MPP program at UCLA Luskin, Sandeep holds degrees from UCLA School of Law (JD), and Duke University (AB). At Luskin, Sandeep earned highest honors on his Applied Policy Project and was named MPP Student of the Year in his graduating class. Sandeep continues to mentor and advise Luskin students who are interested in careers in Washington, DC, and encourages students to reach out to him.

Employment:  https://www.millerchevalier.com/professional/sandeep-prasanna, https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/sandeep-a-prasanna/

Profile:   linkedin.com/in/saprasanna

Valeria joined NDIA in October 2022. She has over 12 years of experience with nonprofits. She has worked on various initiatives, from health, education, and human rights to immigration and food security. She is a community leader who advocates for …

Isaac Bryan represents California’s 55th Assembly District, which consists of Baldwin Hills, the Crenshaw district, Culver City, Ladera Heights, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms, Pico-Robertson, Beverly Grove, Mid-Wilshire, and parts of South Los Angeles.

In the Assembly, Isaac serves as the Chair of the Elections Committee, fighting to protect the right to vote and to keep our elections free and fair. He also serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s first Select Committee on Poverty and Economic Inclusion. In 2022, he was elected Secretary and Treasurer of the California Legislative Black Caucus. He is Vice Chair and a founding member of the Renters Caucus.

In the Assembly, Isaac secured funding to found the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy at UCLA School of Law; the first Climate Change Education Center in the California Community College system at West LA College; a stipend program for students in the trades to earn a living wage while studying for certificates, and millions of dollars for other projects across the 55th District. Isaac’s legislative accomplishments have included phasing out the Inglewood Oil Field and other oil drilling near homes and communities in California (SB-1137), ending prison gerrymandering (AB-1848), ending punishing fees for parents with children in foster care (AB-1686), protecting students from predatory insurance practices (AB-1823) and strengthening online campaign finance disclosure requirement (AB-1848).

Isaac is a community organizer, highly regarded policy expert, and a published academic. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Isaac led a ballot measure that brought millions of dollars a year to address racial injustice and strengthen communities in Los Angeles. He served as the founding Director of the UCLA Black Policy Project – a think tank dedicated to advancing racial equity through rigorous policy analysis – served as the first Director of Public Policy at the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center, as well as Director of Organizing for the nationally recognized Million Dollar Hoods project, a community-based participatory research project. He authored the first holistic report for the City of Los Angeles on the needs of the formerly incarcerated Angelenos, and exposed a gap in youth justice policy. For years, his academic and organizing work has been at the intersection of environmental, economic, education and housing justice.

Employment:  https://a55.asmdc.org/

Profile:   linkedin.com/in/isaacbryan

Twitter:   @isaacgbryan

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Bryan

Jason Ballou is a Master of Public Policy candidate at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs where he is an advocate for long term solutions for homelessness.  Prior to graduate school, Jason was a case manager with Lutheran Social Services helping individuals who were chronically homeless and disabled. In this role he helped people re-engage in physical and mental health care and gain a steady income, with the ultimate goal of securing good permanent housing. For his work with some of the community’s most challenging cases, the City of Long Beach Prosecutor’s Office recognized him with its annual Impact Award in 2019.

Believing that kindness and compassion are the best guides for policy making and social change, Jason is very active in volunteering and service.  Through his church, he has coordinated several Habitat for Humanity projects building housing for the working poor. He has assisted with the LA LGBT Center’s Community Action Network and was elected president of the Association of Master of Public Policy Students.  Jason recently completed the Los Angeles Marathon, his first marathon ever.  He also enjoys playing dodgeball, great LA hikes and trips to see his family in Ohio.