Sarai Esparza
SARAI ESPARZA (she/her) is a fourth-year double majoring in Economics and Labor Studies. As an incoming Research Department Policy Fellow, she is eager to utilize research and her background in organizing as tools to uplift communities and build worker power.
Through the UCLA Labor Center, she has interned with the CLEAN Car Wash Worker Center, assisting with research to better understand changes within the car wash industry following immigration raids in Los Angeles. During her time at UCLA, she has engaged in worker advocacy initiatives, including the Young Worker Education Project, where she co-facilitated collective bargaining and workers’ rights workshops for high school students across LAUSD. Beyond UCLA, she has also worked at a community garden in South LA, where she learned how green urban spaces can serve as sites for community autonomy and resistance.
Born and raised in Southeast Los Angeles, she has seen the economic, environmental, and educational injustices woven into the fabric of many Black and Brown communities. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to challenging inequitable economic frameworks while cultivating spaces that foster cross-community solidarity.
