UCLA Luskin Department of Public Policy

Congratulations to MPP '24 alum Yesenia Robancho for being honored with the Rising Star Award from the California Dream Alliance. This is a well-deserved acknowledgement of Yesenia's work as Associate Director of Policy & Strategy at GRACE - End Child Poverty in CA.

I’m feeling deeply grateful for all of my peers who surprised Lan Le at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California and me with an additional Rising Star Award from the California Dream… | Yesenia Robancho | 14 comments I’m feeling deeply grateful for all of my peers who surprised Lan Le at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California and me with an additional Rising Star Award from the California Dream Alliance. This recognition means so much, especially coming from a community of people I admire and le...

Congratulations to MPP 2014 alum Malocca Hawkins for her new position as Academic Labor and Employee Relations Advocate at UC Irvine. Malocca continues to advance in her career in Human Resources and Labor Relations. linkedin.com/in/maloccalhawkins

Congratulations to MPP-2011/PhD-2016 alum Marlon Graf for his promotion to Senior Director at Precision AQ, a business consulting and services firm working with the world's leading pharma brands. This is Marlon's fourth promotion since starting at Precision AQ in 2019.
linkedin.com/in/marlon-graf-41759223

Congratulations to MPP'06 alum Kevin Baba for starting a new position as Director Product & GTM Finance at Faire, an online wholesale marketplace based in San Francisco that connects product companies with stores. Kevin is one of many alums who are using their MPP analytic skills in the private sector. linkedin.com/in/kevinbaba

Congratulations to MPP'06/PhD'12 alum Jack William Clift for his promotion to Senior Program Officer-Nutrition at Give Well. In this capacity Jack is responsible for rigorously investigating potential interventions and grant opportunities that meet GiveWell's cost-effectiveness threshold for grantmaking. linkedin.com/in/jackclift

Ana Lua Martel, MPP Class of 2026, recently participated in a workshop examining the role of the United States Intelligence Community in shaping national security policy. Through a breakdown of the intelligence cycle and discussions on ethics, civil liberties, oversight, and real-world case studies, the session offered a comprehensive look at how intelligence informs decision-making. Special thanks to Congressman Jimmy Gomez!

Alum 2B Spotlight: Current first year MPP student Sam James is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Altadena Recovery Team (ART). She was featured in a UCLA News article regarding her advocacy on behalf of Altadena residents impacted by the last year's devastating fires. She will be the keynote speaker at an advocacy training session on the Role of Advocacy in CA Legislative Process. https://lnkd.in/gJDdCvNJ
Link to the UCLA News story: bit.ly/3YZRuF1

Alum Spotlight: MPP'04 alum Louise McCarthy is President & CEO of the Community Clinic Association of LA County. MPP'12 alum Henna Zaidi is Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships at Advantage Healthcare Services. They are both presenters at the UCLA HPMAA (Health Policy & Management Alumni Association) event on Thursday.

#uclahpmaa #uclafsph #uclahpm #publichealth #healthpolicy #healthmanagment | UCLA HPMAA (Health Policy & Management Alumni Association) Our event is one week away! Designed for students and alumni who are considering their next move, navigating change, or simply looking to grow more intentionally in an evolving workforce. This panel and networking event will explore how transferable skills can open doors across roles, specialties, a...

Navigating the MPP Internship Landscape 📂📍
We invited our 2nd-year MPP students to talk all things summer internships.

In partnership with OSAAR, we covered:
✅ Getting internship materials ready
✅ Finding / creating opportunities
✅ Preparing for interviews
✅ Accepting the offer
✅ Making the best of internships

Swipe to see our panelists in action! 📸➡️

Alum Spotlight: MPP 2000 alum Deborah Weinstein Bloome is Senior Director of Policy at Accelerate Resilience LA (ARLA). Deborah spearheaded two years of research for a report documenting that nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary. See the link below to Deborah's post , the LA Times feature about the reports' findings which has a link to the 109 page report. https://lnkd.in/guvMKasB

Alum Spotlight: MPP'25 alum Mara Lam is Policy Analyst, Emerging States at Circular Action Alliance (CAA), a U.S. Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) dedicated to implementing effective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for paper and packaging. Mara will be joining recently featured MPP alums on a panel hosted by the Luskin MPP student group "Public Policy Leadership Association." linkedin.com/in/maralam

Our MPP students headed to Sacramento for the third annual UCLA Luskin California Policy Briefing at the UC Student and Policy Center.📍The briefing brought faculty and research leaders together to share research-driven solutions to California’s most urgent challenges, reinforcing the power of policy grounded in evidence. A meaningful opportunity to engage with the work shaping a more informed and equitable future for our state.🌟