Alumni Advisory Board
Attorney Investigator, Office of Legislative Counsel, State of California
Ray serves as an attorney for the Office of Legislative Counsel for the State of California, a nonpartisan public agency supporting the California Legislature and other state offices by providing legal and technology expertise. Previously, Ray served as a Program Analyst in the Civil Rights Unit for the California Department of Social Services and prior to his work for the State of California, Ray represented low-income and homeless people in their claims for government benefits. Ray graduated UC Santa Cruz in 2007. While he was a student, Ray was part of the Filipino Student Association and was the Engaging Education (e2) representative for the A Step Forward program. Ray was also an officer and Chair of the Student Union Assembly.
Senior Radio Editor, Reveal
Jenny Casas is a senior radio editor for Reveal. She was previously a narrative audio producer at The New York Times. She was in the inaugural cohort of AIR's Edit Mode: Story Editor Training. She has reported on the ways that cities systematically fail their people for WNYC, USA Today, City Bureau and St. Louis Public Radio. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, she was a reporter for City on a Hill Press. Casas is from California and is based in Chicago.
Senior National Director, Advocacy, NAACP
Wisdom O. Cole is the Senior National Director of Advocacy for the NAACP. He brings extensive experience in civil rights advocacy training institute, electoral action training, grassroots organizing, issues toolkits, and webinars at the local, state, and national level. He has managed national campaign efforts focused on building Black political power through youth leadership development, advocacy, and direct action organizing for the past 5 years with the NAACP, formerly as the National Campaigns & Training Manager.
In his time at the NAACP, he has worked on campaigns around the cancelation of student debt, removing police from schools, as well as increasing voter access for young Black people. Wisdom was previously a field and state conference organizer for the Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC), the largest Black collegiate organization in California. In 2014, he collaboratively organized the Afrikan Black Coalition conference that featured keynote speakers such as Marc Lamont Hill, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, and Attallah Shabazz. For this effort, he received the Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity in recognition for outstanding contributions to furthering diversity, inclusion, and excellence at UC Santa Cruz.
Wisdom grew up in California where he earned a B. A. in Chemistry, with a minor in STEM Education, from UC Santa Cruz as well as a M. A. in Teaching from the University of San Francisco.
Program Officer, California Community Foundation
Kalwis Lo currently serves as a program officer at the California Community Foundation, where he manages collaboration with external partners and aligns the Foundation’s grantmaking to support designated education initiatives. This includes ensuring the success of the California Thriving Youth Initiative (CTYI) and the Community Foundations Teacher Workforce Project.
Kalwis brings over a decade of experience in government affairs, public policy, and partnerships. Most recently, he served on the Professional Services Team for the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission through Operativo, a public affairs firm. He also held positions as the director of strategic partnerships and director of policy and advocacy for Scholarship America, the nation’s largest private scholarship organization. During his tenure at Scholarship America, Kalwis was featured in the Wall Street Journal and The Hechinger Report for his work on eliminating barriers to private student aid. He has a proven track record of forming successful coalitions to pass state and federal legislation with bipartisan support, including two bills approved unanimously by the California State Legislature in 2019 and 2022. Kalwis began his career in Washington, DC as the legislative director for the U.S. Student Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and a minor in education from UC Santa Cruz.
Senior Campaign Lead, CWA-AFA; Host of How We Get Free Podcast
Tiffany Dena Loftin is currently the Senior Campaign Lead at AFA-CWA where she helps lead the campaign to organize 28,000 Delta Airlines Flight Attendants to win their first contract and form their union. Tiffany also serves as the Higher Education lead for the Debt Collective, a union of borrowers who aim to abolish debt and make education, housing, and healthcare a right for all. She advises the United States Student Association and serves on the United We Dream Foundation Board. She previously served as the National Director for the Youth and College Division at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Tiffany is a certified trainer and community organizer for public education, labor, and all things racial justice through civic engagement and issue campaign organizing. She is the producer and host of the ‘How We Get Free Podcast’ and teaches leadership courses at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Investigative Reporter, Associated Press
Martha Mendoza is an investigative reporter covering injustice, corruption and bias. She was part of a team whose investigations into slavery in the Thai seafood business led to the freedom of more than 2,000 men in 2015. Earlier reporting uncovered a U.S. Army massacre of hundreds of civilians early in the Korean War. Currently based in Santa Cruz, she’s worked out of AP bureaus in Mexico City, Bangkok, New York, Silicon Valley and Albuquerque. Martha is a UCSC alumni who wrote her own major in journalism and education. She’s been teaching there part-time since 2001.
Area Vice President, Salesforce
David Peck is an accomplished business leader and strategist with a diverse background in advertising, sales, and management. Before graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2009 with a degree in Business Management Economics, David demonstrated early leadership potential as a member of the Student Union Assembly and as the Advertising Sales Manager for the City on a Hill Press.
Since graduation, David has remained actively engaged with the student media community, serving in advisory roles for City on a Hill Press and SoMeCA. In these positions, he has imparted valuable knowledge in advertising sales and marketing operations, while fostering a strategic partnership between City on a Hill Press and the Transportation and Parking Services department.
Professionally, David began as an entrepreneur, owning and operating a small business in San Diego, before relocating to San Francisco in 2013 to embark on a career at Salesforce. Starting as a cold caller in the enterprise space, he quickly advanced through various selling roles and ultimately transitioned into leadership. Currently, David serves as an Area Vice President, overseeing a dynamic team of over 50 sales professionals, driving growth and innovation within the organization.
With a commitment to mentorship and a passion for developing future talent, David continues to blend experience and insight, shaping the next generation of leaders in the business world.
General Counsel, California Association of Professional Employees
Leisette Rodriguez is general counsel at the California Association of Professional Employees. She is also a part-time professor at CSU Dominguez Hills in the Labor Studies Department. Leisette received her Juris Doctor from CUNY School of Law and graduated from UCSC in 1996. At UCSC, she was affiliated with Cowell College and was co-chair of MEChA and a member of SANAI, TWANAS, MCF and many other student organizations. Leisette sits on the UCSC ALumni Council and is chair of QWOCMAP, a queer women of color media making organization in San Francisco. In her spare time, you can usually find her at the park with her daughter and behind a lens doing film or photography.
Executive Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Víctor (he/him) first joined LAANE in 2017 as the director of the Long Beach campaign. He subsequently served as director for the Quality Care campaign and co-director for the Climate campaign. In February 2024, Víctor became LAANE’s executive director.
Prior to LAANE, Víctor worked in various organizing and research capacities at the (now) Equity Research Institute at USC, national AFL-CIO, and United States Student Association. Víctor holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a M.P.P. from the USC Price School of Public Policy. While at UCSC, Víctor was involved in El Centro, Oakes Senate and the Student Union Assembly (SUA) — serving as the twice elected Vice Chair of External Affairs.
Associate Professor, University of San Francisco
Darrick Smith is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of San Francisco and a consultant for colleges and school districts addressing equity concerns in the areas of policy, pedagogy, and leadership. Dr. Smith’s research interests include: culturally responsive discipline practices; equity in community colleges; critical pedagogy; transformative leadership, and education for social justice. He has served as an educator, school leader, and consultant within secondary, post-secondary, and non-profit spaces for 18 years. Dr. Smith previously served as the Co-Principal at the June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco, as well as founder of the TryUMF (pronounced “triumph”) program for adolescents, teaching students fundamental principles in sociology, feminism, and critical theory. He was awarded the University of California’s Fannie Lou Hamer Award for his commitment to social change and a commendation from the California State Senate for his work in violence prevention and youth development.
Ray Austin
Jenny Casas
Wisdom Cole
Kalwis Lo
Tiffany Dena Loftin
Martha Mendoza
David Peck
Leisette Rodriguez
Víctor Sanchez
Darrick Smith
