Sara Bruene is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Riverside. She studies political economy, globalization, and social change as they relate to race and class inequalities. Sara’s previous studies have explored the social movements and labor rights of Los Angeles street vendors. Her current work aims to understand global food deserts and emigration, exploring human responses to global climate change under social, economic, and political contexts. Sara has studied in Hamburg, Bangkok, and Bangalore and has backpacked over 30 countries which have helped contextualize her understanding of migration and open borders. As a graduate student researcher for the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center, she contributes to reports on the working and employment conditions throughout the IE.

John Burnett is a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of California, Riverside and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He was raised in Riverside, CA and earned his B.A. in Political Science at California Baptist University, and then moved to Washington D.C. to earn a M.A. in Politics at The Catholic University of America while working as a research assistant at the National Defense University. John’s research focuses on Indigenous identity and participation in tribal and non-tribal politics. His long-term goals are to provide tribal governments with the resources to manage and protect data gathered on their citizens, as well as helping tribal governments develop data collection methods most compatible with their culture and traditions.

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.

Fernando is a Mexican Marxist & Decolonial thinker from México. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of California Riverside (UCR). He is currently a GSR for the project Logistics Electrification, Workforce Development, and High Road Training Partnerships in Inland Southern California: Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations. He has worked advising and supporting Indigenous groups in Baja California, México, as well as with the Resistance in defense of water in Baja California. 

Pedro Freire is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He received his Master's in Labor Studies at The City University of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies and his Bachelor's in Political Science and Philosophy of Law at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. He's currently working as a GSR conducting qualitative research for the Latino and Latin American Studies Research Center and the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center at UCR.

Jingyan (Jean) Guo is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Her research focuses on health and development economics. She received her B.A. degree in Economics and Mathematics from Colby College and her M.S. degree in Applied Analytics from Columbia University. After that, she worked at the Los Angeles Behavioral Economics Laboratory (LABEL) at the University of Southern California before she started to pursue a Ph.D. degree in Economics at UCR in 2019. She is currently a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) for the project on quantitative regional labor market and related analyses in the Inland Empire and California.

KeAysia Jackson is a Ph.D. student in the Education Department (School Psychology program) at the University of California, Riverside. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Howard University and a Master of Arts in Education from UCR. Her research investigates how intersectional identity and institutional oppression impact Black School Psychology students’ persistence in their graduate programs. She is currently a qualitative GSR for the State of Workers in the Supply Chain Industries of the Inland Empire and the State of Work in the Inland Empire projects.

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. 

Jeddy Jacinto Molina is one of the IELCC’s Communications Assistants. She will be graduating in 2024 with a B.A. in Political Science. She plans to attend law school to pursue her goal of becoming a civil rights attorney. Over the Summer she was a part of the IELCC’s Summer Labor Program where she interned for the UFCW and learned about all the impactful hard work unions are a part of. She is a proud feminist Latina who wishes to continue helping the communities around her take advantage of the opportunities provided for them. She is passionate about racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, alleviating the homelessness crisis, gender equality, and worker’s rights. During her time living in Riverside for the past three years, she has grown to enjoy the different cultures and communities she has gotten to know. She hopes to inform and bring together more community members with similar passions in order to empower those who are often underrepresented.

Idiana Y. Salam is now pursuing a doctoral degree in the field of Political Science, with a specific emphasis on American Politics, Mass Political Behavior, and International Relations. Idiana successfully completed a Master's Degree program in Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy from the University of Redlands, California. During her pursuit of a Master's Degree, she had the opportunity to engage in water-related research as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR). The fundamental basis of this study involved the examination and evaluation of data obtained from water agencies located in the Southern California region. She was tasked with the analysis of many datasets pertaining to various agencies, encompassing factors such as water rates, fire expenses, wastewater charges, drought surcharges, and the nature of water rate structures, among others. Idiana Y. Salam is presently serving as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) once again for a study focused on quantitative analysis of regional labor markets in the Inland Empire region and California overall.

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.