Reshma Shamasunder is Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center. Prior to coming to the Policy Center, Reshma was Director of Benefits Policy and Government Affairs at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. In addition to working on immigrant issues, Reshma has worked on issues of homelessness, child labor in India, and domestic violence. Reshma holds a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sara D. Sadhwani is the Strategy Director for the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining CIPC, Sara worked as the Director of the Immigrant Rights Project at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) focusing on immigration reform, immigrant integration and access to quality health and human services for low income Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Previously, Sara worked as the federal policy coordinator for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and served as Vice President of Policy for the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON). She received her master’s degree in International Development from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ronald Coleman is CIPC Statewide Policy Analyst , based in Sacramento. Formerly, Ronald was the Legislative and Policy Director for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and most recently with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). He has over 5 years experience advocating on a wide-range of issues to protect the interests of low income communities and working families. Ronald has received his Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center, and his BA in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Ronald is also a member of the State Bar of New Jersey.
Kristine Chong is Statewide Policy Organizer at CIPC. Formerly, Kristine was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the International Rescue Committee’s refugee resettlement office in San Diego. She has also interned with The Asia Foundation’s Philippines office and the International Justice Mission. Kristine holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in English from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Gabriela Villareal is a Policy Analyst based in CIPC's Oakland office. Previously, she was the Immigration Advocacy Policy Coordinator for the New York Immigration Coalition and also worked for Safe Horizon’s Anti-Trafficking Program as the Training and Advocacy Director. Gabriela served as a board member of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum and is a recipient of the King County Coalition against Domestic Violence "Take Action" Award.
Isabel Alegria is Communications Director with the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC). Formerly, she worked with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund on MALDEF’s Census 2000 program. Isabel pursued a broadcasting career for more than 20 years, working most recently as a Reporter for National Public Radio, based in San Francisco. Formerly, she worked at radio station KPBS-FM in San Diego and at KXCR in El Paso, Texas. She was the co-founder of the Latin American News Service from El Paso, Texas. Isabel is a graduate of Stanford University in Communications.
Jon Rodney is the Communications Project Coordinator in CIPC's Oakland office. Jon uses his passion for language to lift up the voices of immigrant communities in the media. Before joining CIPC in September 2010, he was Communications Manager at the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy where he developed messaging and generated ongoing media coverage of many immigrant related issues in the region. Jon has previously worked as a labor organizer. Jon is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Spanish and Literature, and speaks both Spanish and Arabic.
Anai Ibarra is Communications Coordinator for the Los Angeles office of CIPC. Before joining CIPC, and since 2007, Anaí worked with a number of progressive, social, and environmental organizations as a bilingual and bicultural Public Relations consultant. Some of these organizations include: The Broad Foundation, The Spin Project, CA Latinas for Reproductive Justice, First 5 LA and Riverside, California Nurses Association, and COFEM. With over 14 years of experience in the areas of Social Marketing, Advertising, and Media Relations, Anaí offers knowledge and understanding of the Latino community in the U.S. and Latin America. A native of Guatemala, Anaí is a former Fulbright scholarship recipient, obtaining a B.A. in Public Relations and a B.A. in Organizational Communications from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Gina Da Silva is CIPC's Program Assistant based in Sacramento. Before coming to CIPC, Gina she spent several years in the Republic of Panama as the manager of a hotel. Prior to this she worked with the Women of Color Resource Center in Oakland as the Peace & Solidarity Intern. Gina is a graduate of the University of San Francisco in Politics and International Studies, with a focus on Latin American Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies.
