Marissa Brookes is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Political Science department at the University of California, Riverside. She is also Faculty Co-Director of the UCR Inland Empire Labor and Community Center and a faculty affiliate of the UCR Labor Studies Program. Her research focuses on transnational labor activism, workforce development, and the politics of work and employment in the global economy. Her research has appeared in outlets such as Comparative Political Studies, Development and Change, the Global Labour Journal, and Qualitative and Multi-Method Research. Her book, The New Politics of Transnational Labor: Why Some Alliances Succeed (Cornell University Press) analyzes the causes of success and failure in transnational labor campaigns. On invitation, she has presented her research at the Center for Advanced Study in Oslo, the ILO in Geneva, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Berlin, The Worker Institute in New York, USAID in Washington, DC, and the ILR School at Cornell University, among other venues. Dr. Brookes teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international relations, international political economy, labor studies, and qualitative methods. She earned her Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University.

Ellen Reese is Professor and Acting Vice-Chair of Society, Environment, and Health Equity, and Chair of Labor Studies at the University of California Riverside. Her research focuses on gender, race, and class, welfare state development, social movements, and poverty and work.  She is co-author of Unsustainable: Amazon, Warehousing, and the Politics of Exploitation (2023, University of California Press), and co-editor of The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy (Pluto Press, 2020), which won the 2020-21 Award for Best Book Related to Labor Education from the United Association of Labor Education. She is also the author of They Say Cutback; We Say Fightback! Welfare Activism in an Era of Retrenchment (2011, American Sociological Association’s Rose Series) and Backlash Against Welfare Mothers: Past and Present (2005, University of California Press), co-author of The World Social Forums and the Challenges of Global Democracy (2007, Paradigm Publishers), co-editor of The Wages of Empire: Neoliberal Policies, Repression, and Women’s Poverty (2007, Paradigm Publishers) and co-editor of A Handbook of World Social Forum Activism (2012, Paradigm Publishers).

Zoe Caras is Inland Empire Labor and Community Center’s Project Coordinator. She comes to the position with a background as a labor, environmental, and community organizer, researcher, and educator. Zoe is passionate about the power of working people, political education, prison abolition, internationalist organizing, and racial and environmental justice. She received her B.A. in 2015 from Prescott College, where she studied Social Movement History and Community Organizing. After graduating, she worked with indigenous field guides to start a union in the tourism industry as part of a larger land rights campaign. In 2018, Zoe attended CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies Union Semester, where she organized with the National Domestic Workers Alliance and New York Caring Majority. She is trained in Strategic Corporate Research from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. As a researcher at ROC United, a restaurant workers’ center, Zoe coordinated projects including a National Research Panel of 1,000 restaurant workers tracking COVID-19’s impact on the industry; the “State of the Restaurant Workforce” report, which compiled data into a comprehensive report on the industry; and trained and mentored research fellows. Zoe hopes to support students to join the labor movement as workers and organizers as well as to build the power of working people and their communities across the Inland Empire and California. She aspires to bring a collaborative presence to IELCC and is excited to connect with students, staff, faculty, and community members– please reach out to her anytime!

Elvira De La Torre is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Her research focuses on race and class inequality as they relate to the criminal justice system. She received her B.A. degree in Sociology from Whittier College where she conducted research on the social impacts of gentrification in Los Angeles. During her undergraduate career, she continued to work with local communities and nonprofits to provide residents with accessible resources, information, and support. She is a current qualitative Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) for the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center.

Gregory Blake Hutchins is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of California, Riverside where he received his M.A. degree in 2022. His concentrations are in Mass Political Behavior and International Relations. He served as Chief of Staff for UCR's Inland Empire Labor and Community Center from April 2023 to September 2024 where he helped start the center and build up its full team.  Since September of 2024 he serves as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director and Lead Graduate researcher working on everything from the center’s research to assisting in building and fostering community and student relations. In addition to his academic work, Greg is also a member of the Pick Group of Young Professionals, a network of young community members working towards engaging Riverside to be a better place to live while pursuing excellence in the workplace, where he serves as the Vice-Chair of the Civic Engagement Committee. Lastly, Greg is also a Riverside City Commissioner sitting on the Budget Engagement Commission.

Eren Whitfield (he/they) is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Psychology department, minoring in Labor Studies. They volunteer with the Lab for Cognition and Action with Dr. David Rosenbaum on campus, hoping to land a research position after graduation. His other action on campus includes social media and promotion management for the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at UCR, where they have continuously explored their passions for workers justice, social equality, and equal access to resources for all. He currently works as a Communications Assistant for the Inland Empire Labor & Community Center at UCR. He is determined to weave these two positions together to better the community around them.

Rachel Kim is a fifth-year undergraduate student majoring in Political Science/International Affairs pursuing a Business Analytics minor at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Rachel's main interests revolve around social equality and equity, environmental justice, and health inequalities globally. Rachel recently returned to the U.S. after spending her senior year studying abroad in Paris at UC Center Paris and in London at the University College London from August 2023 to June 2024. Her most recent involvements include being a research fellow through the Minority Serving Institution Research Academy (MSIRA) and with the Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP) providing support in research efforts for faculty in the Political Science Department. Rachel has worked with UCR and the Riverside community through her various involvements with the ASUCR Judicial Council, UCR College Corps Fellowship, and the Education Abroad Department as a former Highlander Abroad Advisory Committee (HAAC) member. Now, she serves as a Program Assistant for the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center at UCR. Rachel hopes to further serve the UCR and Riverside community through her time at Inland Empire Labor & Community Center and internships within the community. 

Nayeli Escorcia Navas is one of the Inland Empire Labor & Community Center’s Program Assistants. She is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in business economics at the University of California, Riverside. As an International Baccalaureate diploma recipient and first-generation student, she thrives on hard work and determination. With over two years of volunteering within the community, Nayeli truly understands the importance of being a community member who is civilly engaged. As a member of the TRIO Program at UCR, Nayeli places significance on academic and social success. Additionally, during her undergraduate career, Nayeli hopes to become more involved in research programs on campus.