Unified Visions: Transcending Divisions

Inhauck (IN-HAWK) Choi (he/him) is a low-income Korean-American immigrant born in Toronto, Canada. He currently works at UCSF as a clinical research coordinator on a neuroscience research study for treatment-resistant depression, where he works closely with patients and performs data analysis. Inhauck is passionate about his community, and he currently volunteers for Benioff's Children's Hospital in Oakland and works closely with EmpoweringAPI to advance social justice. He acknowledges that he is nothing without community and strives to uplift them as he uplifts himself. Outside of his professional environment, Inhauck is a personal trainer, enjoys the outdoors, reads books, and plays the guitar.

Arabi Hassan (she/her) is a first-generation, formerly undocumented immigrant who is passionate about increasing access to sociocaeconomic mobility for undocumented communities through education and entrepreneurship. She is a community college transfer, a UC Berkeley alumna, and recently graduated from Harvard Law last month with her law degree. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of First Gen Empower, a non-profit organization that works with students, as well as high schools and universities, to increase access to college and career opportunities for first-generation, low-income, and undocumented students

Jesús Flores Rodriguez (he/him) was born in Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, México. He came to the United States with the rest of his family to seek better access to medical attention for his older sister. He grew up in Los Angeles, where, despite his language barrier as an ESL student, he managed to graduate with high honors from UC Davis in 2017 with a B.A in Political Science. While at UC Davis, he was part of the founding staff of the AB540 & Undocumented Student Center and participated in the Dream Summer in 2015. Inspired by his family's experience navigating access to healthcare in California, he created a resource guide outlining health care access opportunities for undocumented and uninsured families in the Sacramento and Yolo counties. His passion in immigration law led him to become the first undergraduate intern and research assistant for the Unaccompanied Minors Project at the UC Davis School of Law.

Yamily Pardio (she/they) is a DACAmented and non-traditional undergraduate transfer student at UCLA majoring in Anthropology. She is currently a Programs Associate at Arts For LA and designs leadership development programs for professionals in the arts industry and for high school students who want to advocate for their right to an arts education. She also has years of experience working with education departments of contemporary art museums where she practiced non-traditional pedagogies. Yamily is deeply influenced by her experiences as an undocumented mixed race person of Mayan and Chinese descent from Yucatan, Mexico. Throughout her youth, she was an organizer in various realms of the immigrant movement. She started by advocating for resources as a community college student in California and joined the first cohort of students to advocate for Dream Resource Centers at Mt. San Antonio College in 2013.

Today we are joined by the incredible Mr. Paul Ryan Villanueva, an esteemed individual who identifies as Queer, Filipino, and is currently undocumented. Hailing from Seattle, Mr. Villanueva is an impassioned activist, particularly in matters concerning the rights and experiences of undocumented immigrants.With an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a recent graduation from a Masters in Public Administration program with a specialized focus in Environmental Policy, Paul has developed a strong academic foundation. I am particularly interested in exploring Mr. Villanueva's personal journey as an undocumented individual residing in Seattle, as well as delving into the noteworthy political initiatives he has undertaken. Our conversation aims to shed light on the challenges faced by undocumented queer individuals and highlight the significant contributions they can make within the political sphere.

Today we are joined by the incredible Mr. Paul Ryan Villanueva, an esteemed individual who identifies as Queer, Filipino, and is currently undocumented. Hailing from Seattle, Mr. Villanueva is an impassioned activist, particularly in matters concerning the rights and experiences of undocumented immigrants.With an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a recent graduation from a Masters in Public Administration program with a specialized focus in Environmental Policy, Paul has developed a strong academic foundation. I am particularly interested in exploring Mr. Villanueva's personal journey as an undocumented individual residing in Seattle, as well as delving into the noteworthy political initiatives he has undertaken. Our conversation aims to shed light on the challenges faced by undocumented queer individuals and highlight the significant contributions they can make within the political sphere.

Yamali Rodas Figueroa (they/them) is a Guatemalan undocqueer youth organizer from Chicago's South Side. At 15, they initiated mutual aid programs for undocumented locals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they've been involved in social justice work at local, regional, and national levels. Yamali's focus is on addressing social barriers faced by individuals with intersecting identities, including race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and undocumented status. They were selected to partake in the UCLA Dream Summer Fellowship, working as a program assistant at HANA Center, teaching community organizing to multi-ethnic high school students. In the fall of 2023, they will be studying Sociology at Macalester College and serving as Lead Organizer at the Minnesota Youth Activist Alliance, managing the Sex Educate Us campaign for inclusive sex education in Minnesota and building a passionate youth community for reproductive and sexual health/rights/justice.