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.

Cheylynda Barnard is the Program Director of IELCC and has held this position since the start of 2024. An 18-year resident of Moreno Valley, Cheylynda grew up in the Inland Empire and attended Cal State San Bernardino, graduating with Political Science and Criminal Justice degrees. Cheylynda was a social worker in Riverside County for almost a decade, and during that time she served as Vice President for SEIU Local 721, where she negotiated quality contracts for her union. Cheylynda also served as an executive board member of the Inland Empire Labor Council. 

Outside of her work in labor organizing Cheylynda serves as both a board of director for the Riverside Community Health Foundation and as the District 4 council member for the City of Moreno Valley. Currently, Cheylynda is serving as the Mayor Pro Tem for Moreno Valley.  Mayor Pro Tem Barnard lives by the philosophy of doing good, even when nobody is looking. Mayor Pro Tem Cheylynda Barnard or “Chey” as she is known to her loving husband, Jay, are the proud parents of two wonderful young boys. 

Jesus "Chuy" Flores serves as the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center's Policy and Strategy Director. With over a decade of experience in the field, Chuy brings an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach in his work with organizations committed to improving the lives of working people, their communities, and the environment.

An award-winning policy scholar and urban planner, Chuy previously worked as a Senior Associate at Estolano Advisors where he advised public agencies, foundations, community-based organizations, and labor groups on equitable economic development and environmental justice initiatives. He also previously served as an Environmental Health and Justice Program Associate at the Liberty Hill Foundation and an Executive Fellow at the California Environmental Protection Agency and Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.    

Chuy draws from his lived experience and early-career internships with community-based organizations in everything he does. Proudly born and raised in San Bernardino, Chuy is uniquely cognizant of the environmental, economic, and social inequities that many California residents face.  He firmly believes in centering frontline workers and communities to develop holistic and effective policy solutions that enhance their quality of life. In 2021, Chuy was appointed to his hometown’s Planning Commission, where he successfully advocated for more inclusive public notification procedures for residents and business owners. In 2022, the UCR Center for Social Innovation awarded Chuy with an Innovator of the Year award for his work facilitating cross-sectoral partnerships on environmental justice issues.

Chuy received a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy from Occidental College, a graduate certificate in Applied Policy and Government from CSU-Sacramento, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. In his spare time, Chuy enjoys attempting to cook family recipes, visiting local panaderías, and supporting community arts.

“Mickey” is the inaugural Research Director of the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center, where he hopes to continue his mission to improve people’s lives through research and its applications. He holds four degrees from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor: a PhD in Sociology (2019), an MA in Sociology, an MA in Higher Education, and a BA in Applied Linguistics. Mickey was most recently a simultaneous postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and the University of California – Los Angeles. At UCLA, he served as the Director of the California Initiative on Civil Rights at UCLA’s Civil Rights Project. There, he coordinated national- and state-level research efforts focusing on the next quarter century of civil rights research. As a part of that Initiative, he wrote papers on California about the relationship between neighborhood gentrification, school segregation, and intergenerational mobility (forthcoming). At Harvard, he has and will continue as the Senior Associate Editor of the Du Bois Review, a social science journal about race and ethnicity housed within Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research.

His research broadly covers the sociology of education, race/ethnicity, social inequality, demography, labor, and sociology of law. His work is mainly quantitative, specializing in causal inference methods, geospatial analysis, and inference for non-probability samples. He has secured early career research funding from the American Educational Research Association and the Spencer Foundation. His previous work has been published in Sociology of Education, Research in Higher Education,  American Journal of Education, and the Journal of Higher Education. The American Sociological Association, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and National Public Radio have featured his work."

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!

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.

Clarielisa (Lisa) Ocampo is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Her research focuses on how race, colonialism, and power play a role in shaping the career decision-making of Filipino American students. She uses mixed-methods approaches to understand the structural and cultural forces that influence students’ educational and professional pathways. Lisa has contributed to several projects with AAPI Data, most recently co-leading a research initiative on the state of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in the Inland Empire. She currently serves as a Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) with the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center.

Nayeli Escorcia Navas is one of the Inland Empire Labor & Community Center’s Program Assistants. She is a third-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.

Alice Parra Rios (they/them) is a fourth year Political Science/Law and Society student with a minor in Public Policy. Alice has gained experience with community building through their time in ASUCR, where they currently serve as the First Time College Student Director. They also previously worked with the IELCC through their role as a MSIRA research assistant. They have grown a passion for immigration and labor law, and have a strong sense of public service for their community. Alice would like to battle injustices in both the labor and immigration sector within the Inland Empire through legal justice as an attorney. With their experience in leadership, public service, and research, they would love to work towards creating a better Inland Empire for all. They hope to gain experience to achieve their goals through their role as a Program Assistant. In their free time, Alice enjoys singing, playing tenor saxophone, and performing in drag.  

Alexis was raised and born in Guatemala. A recent graduate from San Bernardino Valley College with an Associate of Arts in Humanities and Social Science, she is the first in her family to attend a university. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Language & Literature in Chinese, though she is also considering a shift to Political Science and International Affairs with a minor in Languages. Alexis previously interned with Catholic Charities, where she supported the region’s immigrant community. As an undocumented student herself, she deeply understands the challenges faced by immigrants and is committed to making a positive change. Her goal is to help community members understand their rights, access vital resources, and become more actively engaged in civic life. As a Program Assistant for the IELCC, she is excited to connect with organizations that advocate for and empower workers. In her free time, Alexis enjoys dancing, singing, and hiking in open, green spaces where she can connect and enjoy the Inland Empire's beautiful nature.

Alexander Huffstedtler (or Alex/Al for short) is a fourth-year political science major and plans to graduate in the spring quarter of 2026. He transferred to UC Riverside Winter Quarter 2025, from Oxnard College, located in the Central Coast of California, receiving his Associate of Arts in Anthropology in 2024. Before transferring to UC Riverside, Alex did a nine-month-long fellowship program where he was placed with a local non-profit named Buen Vecino. During his time with Buen Vecino, he was exposed to grassroots organizing, immigration, and policy issues in Ventura County and the general state of California. Alex chose UC Riverside due to a personal connection to the city of Riverside, as his sister attended the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, growing up, and felt closest to home. Alex has a growing interest in advocacy, economics, culture, public policy, community engagement, urban affairs, and public service. His goal is to learn more about the economic, cultural, and policy-related issues affecting city downtowns, the Inland Empire Region, and the overall state of California. In Alex's free time, he enjoys walking his dog, Toph, cooking, and exploring city downtowns.