LPPI hosts its 2nd annual Latino Policy Day
LPPI hosted its 2nd annual Latino Policy Day on May 14, bringing students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members together to discuss “Building Systems for the New Normal: Data-Driven Solutions When Crisis Becomes Constant.”
The event kicked off with lunch and a panel of LPPI policy fellow program alumni. Current policy fellows Denisse Rodriguez and Jesus Rodriguez introduced and moderated a discussion between Metztli Garcia, digital storyteller and community builder with Boyle Heights Bestie; Blanca Estela Alba Cedillo, advocacy co-director for Immigrant Justice in Action Coalition (IJAC); and Tyler Rivera, associate attorney at Olivarez Madruga Law Organization LLP.
Cedillo said she uses the skills she gained as a research policy fellow to lead a research team of high school students who examine needs on their campus. The students’ findings helped pass $5 million in funding for Dream Centers that support undocumented students in LAUSD.
Rivera encouraged attendees to embrace their passion for social justice and use it to motivate the work they do.
“LPPI taught me the importance of storytelling and how essential it was to get people to move into action,” Garcia added. “It helped me tie my lived experience to greater systemic issues and see that my lived experience was actually an asset – something that made me further of an expert in the policies that I was dealing with and trying to understand.”
The alumni panel was followed by three sessions examining the impact of heightened immigration enforcement and climate disasters on community-based organizations, recovery workers, and small businesses.
Researchers shared their findings on the mental health crisis among overworked community advocates, exploitation of undocumented workers after disasters, and the Los Angeles wildfires’ impact on local businesses.
“In the world of politics, it’s about fighting for ideologies and finding common grounds to find compromise – but to have the arguments you need facts,” said Luis Alvarado, a political analyst who attended the event. “The work that LPPI does brings information for all parties to understand what the challenges and opportunities are for Latinos and to understand what Latinos bring to all other communities.”
Each research presentation was followed by panels featuring representatives from nonprofits, government agencies, and community advocates who used the data to ground the discussion through the lens of their firsthand and professional experiences.
Attendees networked and enjoyed tacos and drinks at a post-event reception.
“What we’ve seen here today is exactly what LPPI aims to foster: bringing together research, policy, and lived experience to not only understand these issues, but to move us toward action,” said Lila Burgos, LPPI deputy director.
