Daphne Santos is a 4th year at UCLA with a major in Public Health and a minor in Labor Studies. While serving as the Internal Executive of Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño, she became passionate about advocating for her community, and she plans to pursue a career within public health equity. 

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Her commitment to understanding her community and advancing her knowledge in public health led her to study abroad in Puerto Escondido Oaxaca, where she gained invaluable insights into the intersection of her cultural roots and public health challenges. Daphne worked for Dr. Maylei Blackwell on research concerning Indigenous Women movements in Mexico and its diaspora, an experience that ignited a profound interest in the Oaxacan diaspora and bolstered her dedication to advancing public health equity. As a current Health Justice fellow with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC), Daphne will have the opportunity to engage in community-centered programming, organizing, and advocacy, especially focusing on healthcare and public health policy. 

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Daphne is a first-generation student and a proud daughter of immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico. Born in Santa Maria and raised in McFarland, she became aware of the inequities in both the Central Valley and Central Coast of California and hopes to be an advocate for reducing health disparities in disproportionately affected communities.

Isaias Cruz is a 4th year transfer student majoring in Sociology with double minors in Education Studies and Chicanx Studies. As an aspiring higher education administrator, he is committed to making higher education more equitable for underrepresented and underserved students.

 

As a first-generation community college transfer student, Isaias has experienced the disparities faced by marginalized students, including challenges with retention, graduation, and access to opportunities. He is actively involved in research and volunteering with the Hispanic Serving Initiative at UCLA and serves as a director in the General Representative 1 office to support students on campus.

 

As a McNair Scholar, Isaias advocates for undocumented students by highlighting their experiences within the California Community College system. His research focuses on the financial aid barriers they face and the jobs they undertake to fund their education.

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Isaias also serves as the External Executive of Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño, where he works to help Oaxacan students navigate the college system and improve retention at UCLA, continuing his commitment to equity and inclusion.

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Born and raised in San Diego, Isaias is proud of his Mixtec heritage. His parents are from San Miguel El Grande in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca.

Diego Emilio Bollo is a 3rd year double-majoring in Labor Studies and Political Science, and minoring in Urban Planning.

 

In Spring 2024, Diego was elected as General Representative 1, one of the 15 offices that sits in the Undergraduate Student Association Council. He oversees his office directors to expand access to basic and material needs, support student workers, and uplift marginalized student bodies by advocating for resource centers and institutional aid. This summer, Diego interned in Washington D.C. with the Communications team of the Immigration Hub, a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies.

 

He hopes to work closely in the immigration rights and labor movement to empower immigrant workers. His family originates from Loma Bonita and Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, Oaxaca.

Daniela Martinez-Cruz is a 4th year student majoring in Education and Social Transformation. As an aspiring Latina educator in the STEM field, she is passionate about increasing the interest of low-income, Latinx, and Indigenous-identifying students in mathematics. She hopes to use her personal experiences in the education field to improve others’ journeys and contribute to the increasing presence of Latinx in STEM.

 

With the goal of improving the success and retention of Latinx and Indigenous-identifying students in higher education, Daniela is the funding director of Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño de UCLA for the 2023-2024 school year. During the summer of 2022, Daniela participated in the Applied Mathematics Mentorship program through UCLA’s Curtis Center and was given the opportunity to work with 7th-grade students in South Los Angeles. She completed her internship at the end of the fall quarter and was able to be a mentor for students who had never considered mathematics as a possible career.

 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Daniela is the proud daughter of Oaxacan immigrant parents from San Francisco LaChigolo and Santa Cruz Papalutla.

Karina Barrera is a 4th year majoring in Psychobiology. As a woman in STEM, she is passionate about the medical field and providing equitable health services to underrepresented minority groups, particularly Latino communities. As a first-generation student, Karina is also deeply committed to improving the educational opportunities for low-income, first-generation students in higher education.

 

At UCLA, Karina is an active member of several organizations. In addition to serving as the Public Relations Director for GEO, she is also involved with COMPAS as the Health Education Director, where she provides essential resources for farmworkers through planning Health Fairs and Care Kit Distribution Drives. In Bruin Hope, she is the Community Service Chair and actively promotes equitable education and wellness resources for orphanages in Tijuana, Mexico. These experiences have further ignited her passion for serving low-income, Spanish-speaking communities through medicine.

 

Born and raised in Moreno Valley, Karina is a proud Oaxaqueña and takes pride in being the daughter of Oaxacan-Indigenous parents from San Jeronimo Progreso, Silacayoapam. Her upbringing has instilled in her a deep connection to Oaxaca and heightened her awareness of the inequities faced by indigenous communities. With a strong desire to help the medically underserved and bridge the gap in health disparities, Karina aspires to pursue a career in medicine and perform surgery.

Juan Sierra is a 3rd year majoring in Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology and minoring in Chicano Studies. Serving as the Higher Education Director for El Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño, he will be entering his third year as a Board Director of GEO. 

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Having experienced the health disparities present in his indigenous immigrant community, Juan aspires to become a physician and has involved himself in community health by serving as the External Director for the Black/Latinx AIDS Project and being part of the Board of Directors of Latinx/Chicanx for Community Health at UCLA. This summer he participated in the CFHI Community Health in Mexico Program where he contributed to his own community by providing healthcare services to remote indigenous communities in Oaxaca. Juan will serve as a Peer Learning Facilitator for Physics at the Academic Advancement Program hoping to advance the success of underrepresented students like himself. Experiencing the underrepresentation that Latino students face in higher education and at UCLA, he hopes to create community for Latino students serving as the Dean of New Membership for Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity Inc. 

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Being raised by a Mexican-American Angeleno mother and a Oaxacan-indigenous immigrant father in Chino, CA he became aware of the institutional and racial inequalities his communities faced. Juan continues to advocate towards abolishing such inequalities focusing on the heath inequalities faced by his communities. 

Angel Ruiz is a 2nd year student majoring in Public Health at UCLA. Angel is passionate about Public Health, advocacy and law, which he hopes to pursue a career in. 

 

Angel has been actively involved in various social movements and leadership roles in his community. Angel has worked with indigenous communities in Orange County to support their fight for recognition and environmental justice, and has worked as a community health worker to provide essential resources and services during the COVID 19 pandemic. 

 

At UCLA, Angel is a member of the office of The External Vice President where Angel is a member of the Health committee actively working to expand health accessibility and harm reduction and preventative services at UCLA. Angel is involved in supporting the movement for workers' rights and expanding his knowledge of farmworkers issues by being involved with Students For Farmworkers UCLA. 

 

Angel grew up in Santa Ana, California and is proud of their Oaxacan Indigenous heritage. Angel is motivated to advocate for his Indigenous and Oaxacan peers, and motivated to pursue higher education and attending Law School to one day become an attorney.

Heidy (she/her) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from Oaxaca, Mexico. She obtained her B.A. in Public Affairs and Labor Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 

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Aware of the importance of Oaxacan-indigenous students’ identity in higher education, Heidy was one of Grupo Estudiantil Oaxaqueño de UCLA's founders and currently serves as the Alumni Advisor and continues to provide guidance and Alumni decision-making in GEO. Heidy’s dedication to social justice and equity led her to become a Project Policy Analyst at the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI), overseeing the design of leadership programs that advance data-informed governance to improve the quality of life for Latinos and other communities of color. She is a current Congressional Hispanic Institute (CHCI) Legislative Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives. Heidy hopes to continue seeing GEO thrive at UCLA and continue to bring Oaxaqeuño perspectives into the policy space, where the community has historically been underserved.