Vanessa Rivas Villanueva

Vanessa Rivas Villanueva recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Environmental Economics and Policy. Her immigration journey to the United States has shaped her passion for finding justice related to the forced displacement and dispossession of people caused by the extraction of natural resources. By working with and learning from incarcerated men, detained immigrant youth, undocumented high school students, farmworker families, the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington, and immigrant families in Oakland, she has learned the importance of community based solutions and participation. Vanessa loves chocomil (chocolate milk), staring at the moon, and exploring life with friends.