Belen Flores
Belen Flores (she/her/ella) is the Leadership Strategy Manager in the Leadership Programs Department at UCLA LPPI. She is responsible for executing leadership strategy and designing leadership training programs that improve data-driven governance to enhance the quality of life for Latine and other communities of color.
Belen manages the UCLA LPPI Policy Fellowship, a historic project of the Leadership Programs Department, which serves UCLA undergraduate and graduate students and prepares them to serve in leadership positions in the underrepresented fields of applied research, policy advocacy, and strategic communications. As part of UCLA LPPI’s mission to serve external stakeholders, Belen has managed the design and launch of the inaugural Latino Data Hub (LDH) Action Lab in partnership with the Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research (CLAPR) at Arizona State University to build the capacity of 14 Arizona based leaders committed to creating change for the Latine community. Belen also co-managed the inaugural Latina Futures 2050 Lab, Latina Law Symposium which convened Latina and women of color legal scholars and practitioners from across the U.S. In 2023, Belen partnered with the Mobilization Department at UCLA LPPI to revamp and manage the Sacramento Policy Briefings by introducing legislative visits with the Policy Fellows and elected officials and their staff to discuss legislation on which UCLA LPPI has taken a stance and expose budding student leaders to California’s decision-makers with largely Latine constituents.
Previously, Belen served as a community organizer with Community Coalition in South Los Angeles where she contributed to strategy development, stakeholder engagement, leadership training, and direct action organizing to empower those who are most proximate to the policy challenges. She has also participated in national public service fellowships with the CA Capital Fellowship Program and the NYC Urban Fellowship Program. Through the CA Capital Fellowship, as a Judicial Fellow, Belen collaborated with Judicial Officers in the LA County Superior Court, Community Relations Office to execute community outreach and diversity programming. As a NYC Urban Fellow, she worked in the Division of Youth and Family Justice to research best practices in youth justice across system points including detention, placement, and aftercare.
Belen has a strong interest in organizing at the grassroots and grasstops level to shift power and create policy change that centers the equitable redistribution of resources to acutely disinvested communities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Justice & Law, with a Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies from American University. Additionally, Belen holds a Certificate in Applied Policy and Government from CSU Sacramento and is a proud Law Fellow alumna of the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Program at U.C. Berkeley.
