2018 MPP Alumni Fellowship Recipient Robert Gamboa, MPP '19
Robert Gamboa, MPP 2019, is currently Co-Chair of the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board (LGAB) for the City of West Hollywood and a Senior Policy Analyst for the Los Angeles LGBT Center. He has served on LGAB for 8 years as an appointed city official working to advance policy and programming initiatives for the LGBTQ community in West Hollywood. Since July of 2019, Robert has been working in the Public Policy Department at the Los Angeles LGBT Center focusing on homelessness, housing, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, and working with his team on other pressing issues such as immigration, seniors, youth, civil rights, the census and so much more.
Please visit Robert’s LinkedIn to learn more about their professional experience.
Gabriela Solis is a Government Innovation Fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab (GPL). She is currently based in Houston, Texas and works with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to strengthen the County’s pre-arrest diversion strategies to reduce jail usage and subsequent justice system involvement. Gabriela recently earned a Master of Social Welfare and Master of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. While at UCLA Luskin, Gabriela worked with the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative to conduct data research to help advance advocacy efforts pertaining to critical domestic policy issues affecting communities of color and served as Co-Director of Case Management for Bruin Shelter, a shelter for college students experiencing homelessness. Gabriela also holds a BA in Gender Studies and Sociology from UCLA.
Caio Velasco is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a Mechanical Engineer by training, who graduated in the top 1% of his class at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), a respected university in Brazil.
Erica is a Program Manager at the Los Angeles County Office of Diversion Reentry where she works to strengthen alternatives to incarceration and increase access to permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals with severe mental health disorders. She graduated from UCLA Luskin as a Master of Public Policy in 2019. At Luskin, she was the Communications Chair for Policy Professionals for Diversity and Equity (PPDE), a graduate fellow in Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office, and honored to be part of the APP team to win highest honors for their project “Establishing a Consent Policy for Youth Diversion in Los Angeles County.”
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.
Devon Schechinger is a Master of Public Policy candidate at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs where she is an advocate for global health policy and foreign diplomacy. Prior to graduate school, Devon was the program manager for Mission Bit, an education non profit teaching STEM courses to traditionally underrepresented public high school students in San Francisco and East Oakland.