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Sonja Diaz


Issues Civil Rights, COVID-19, Criminal Justice, Democracy & Voting Rights, Education, Health

Founding Executive Director, UCLA LPPI
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Sonja Diaz was the executive director of UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute from 2017-2024. She is a practicing civil rights attorney and policy advisor. During Sonja’s time, the Institute saw significant growth in staffing, projects, and funding. Sonja’s leadership advanced our mission to address pressing issues facing the Latino community through research, analysis, and advocacy. Her passion and commitment supported the Institute as a leading voice in Latino policy and politics. In addition to her work on behalf of UCLA LPPI, Sonja also served on UCLA’s Hispanic-serving Institution Task Force, which made key recommendations for how UCLA can reach and maintain HSI status.

With a deep background in both policy and advocacy, Diaz is a regular contributor to the organization’s research portfolio, co-authoring  The Power of the New Majority: A 10 State Analysis of Voters of Color in the 2020 Election, a report that emphasizes the critical role of voters of color in American politics, and The Current State of the Latino Physician Workforce: California Faces a Severe Shortfall in Latino Resident Physicians, which provides further evidence that California’s healthcare workforce pipeline is broken.

Prior to joining UCLA LPPI, Diaz served as policy counsel to U.S. Sen. Kamala D. Harris during her first and second terms as California’s attorney general, managing legal and policy issues of statewide and national importance, including civil rights, consumer protection, criminal justice, immigration, and privacy and technology policy. During her tenure, Diaz served as co-counsel on an industrywide investigation of for-profit online charter schools that garnered a $168.5 million settlement from K12, Inc., was lead counsel on a voting rights investigative package, and directed all aspects of the attorney general’s 21st Century Policing, Immigrant Rights, and Cyberexploitation working groups.

In 2016, Diaz directed a robust voter protection program to support Democratic candidates in Virginia as part of the Clinton-Kaine presidential campaign’s battleground state apparatus, including a commonwealth-wide election monitoring program for language minorities. Diaz has also managed domestic policy portfolios at three California nonprofits, clerked in the White House’s Domestic Policy Council under President Barack Obama, and supported litigation efforts at MALDEF, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and California’s Bureau of Children’s Justice.

Diaz routinely briefs state legislators and local elected officials from across the U.S. on evidence-based governance and emerging trends in domestic policy. Her research and commentary have been mentioned in major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, NBC, NPR, Politico, and Univision. She is a contributing political analyst to KTLA 5, a benchmark of Los Angeles news television, for the 2020 Election.

Diaz received her J.D. from UC Berkeley’s School of Law, holds a M.P.P. from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a B.A. in politics from UC Santa Cruz. She is a University of Michigan Public Policy & International Affairs fellow, valedictorian of People for the American Way’s Frontline Leaders Academy, and LatCrit’s unanimous student scholar awardee for her paper on Latino voting rights.

Reports from Sonja Diaz

More in the Research Library
Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in Arizona Face Challenges in Climate Change and Sustainability in a Post-COVID Economy
White Paper COVID-19

Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in Arizona Face Challenges in Climate Change and Sustainability in a Post-COVID Economy

Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in Texas Face Challenges in Technology, Climate Change, and Sustainability in a Post-COVID Economy
White Paper COVID-19

Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in Texas Face Challenges in Technology, Climate Change, and Sustainability in a Post-COVID Economy

Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in California Face Challenges in Technology, Climate Change, and Sustainability in a Post-COVID Economy
White Paper COVID-19

Business as Usual: Entrepreneurs of Color in California Face Challenges in Technology, Climate Change, and Sustainability in a Post-COVID...

Unseen and Unheard: The Underrepresentation of Latino Voices and Stories in <em>The Los Angeles Times</em> Opinion and Editorials Section
Policy Report Diversity & Inclusion

Unseen and Unheard: The Underrepresentation of Latino Voices and Stories in The Los Angeles Times Opinion and Editorials Section

Opportunities and Challenges Facing California with the 2021 California Recall
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Opportunities and Challenges Facing California with the 2021 California Recall

Voting in America: Ensuring Free and Fair Elections. Written Response to the Committee on House Administration in the U.S. House of Representatives
Testimony Democracy & Voting Rights

Voting in America: Ensuring Free and Fair Elections. Written Response to the Committee on House Administration in the U.S. House of Repre...

Sonja Diaz Congressional Testimony Before the Committee on House Administration on Ensuring Free and Fair Access to the Ballot
Testimony Democracy & Voting Rights

Sonja Diaz Congressional Testimony Before the Committee on House Administration on Ensuring Free and Fair Access to the Ballot

The Latinx Data Gap in the Youth Justice System
Policy Report Criminal Justice

The Latinx Data Gap in the Youth Justice System

COVID-19 in Vulnerable Communities: An Examination by Race/Ethnicity in Los Angeles and New York City
Policy Report COVID-19

COVID-19 in Vulnerable Communities: An Examination by Race/Ethnicity in Los Angeles and New York City

21st Century Latino Agenda
Policy Report Civil Rights

21st Century Latino Agenda

Jobless During A Global Pandemic: The Disparate Impact of COVID-19 on Workers of Color in the World’s Fifth Largest Economy
Policy Report COVID-19

Jobless During A Global Pandemic: The Disparate Impact of COVID-19 on Workers of Color in the World’s Fifth Largest Economy

Telehealth & COVID-19: Policy Considerations to Improve Access to Care
Policy Report COVID-19

Telehealth & COVID-19: Policy Considerations to Improve Access to Care

Struggling to Stay Home: How COVID-19 Shelter in Place Policies Affect Los Angeles County’s Black and Latino Neighborhoods
Policy Report COVID-19

Struggling to Stay Home: How COVID-19 Shelter in Place Policies Affect Los Angeles County’s Black and Latino Neighborhoods

Shaping California’s Future: An Analysis of Latino Underrepresentation in the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Applicant Pool
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Shaping California’s Future: An Analysis of Latino Underrepresentation in the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Applicant...

California’s Physician Shortage During COVID-19: A Policy Roadmap To Expand Access To Care
Policy Report COVID-19

California’s Physician Shortage During COVID-19: A Policy Roadmap To Expand Access To Care

Left Behind During a Global Pandemic: An Analysis of Los Angeles County Neighborhoods at Risk of Not Receiving COVID-19 Individual Rebates Under the CARES Act
Policy Report COVID-19

Left Behind During a Global Pandemic: An Analysis of Los Angeles County Neighborhoods at Risk of Not Receiving COVID-19 Individual Rebate...

The Power of the New Majority: A 10 State Analysis of Voters of Color in the 2020 Election
Policy Report Civil Rights

The Power of the New Majority: A 10 State Analysis of Voters of Color in the 2020 Election

Iowa Caucus & the 2020 Latino Vote
Policy Report Civil Rights

Iowa Caucus & the 2020 Latino Vote

Assessing Latino Vote Growth 2014 to 2018
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Assessing Latino Vote Growth 2014 to 2018

California’s Language Concordance Mismatch: An Analysis of Language Proficient Physicians and Limited English Proficient Individuals who speak Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Lao or Vietnamese
Policy Report Health

California’s Language Concordance Mismatch: An Analysis of Language Proficient Physicians and Limited English Proficient Individual...

The Current State of the Latino Physician Workforce: California Faces a Severe Shortfall in Latino Resident Physicians
Policy Report Health

The Current State of the Latino Physician Workforce: California Faces a Severe Shortfall in Latino Resident Physicians

2018 Midterm Elections & The Latino Vote
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

2018 Midterm Elections & The Latino Vote

Disrupting the Black-White Paradigm: Latino Arrests in California
Policy Report Criminal Justice

Disrupting the Black-White Paradigm: Latino Arrests in California

California Primary 2018: Evaluation of AltaMed’s Latino Voter Mobilization in Los Angeles County
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

California Primary 2018: Evaluation of AltaMed’s Latino Voter Mobilization in Los Angeles County

Invisible No More: An Evaluation of the Smithsonian Institution and Latino Representation
Policy Report Arts & Culture

Invisible No More: An Evaluation of the Smithsonian Institution and Latino Representation

Update: Invisible No More: An Evaluation of the Smithsonian Institution and Latino Representation
Policy Report Arts & Culture

Update: Invisible No More: An Evaluation of the Smithsonian Institution and Latino Representation

Latino Vote Choice: Orange County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary in Statewide Contests
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Latino Vote Choice: Orange County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary in Statewide Contests

Latino Vote Choice: Orange County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Latino Vote Choice: Orange County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary

Latino Vote Choice: Los Angeles County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Latino Vote Choice: Los Angeles County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary

Latino Vote Choice: Ventura County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Latino Vote Choice: Ventura County, An Analysis of the June 2018 California Primary

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: How Effective Transit-Oriented Development Can Lead to Positive Economic Growth Without Displacing Latinos
Policy Report Housing & Homelessness

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: How Effective Transit-Oriented Development Can Lead to Positive Economic Growth Without Displacing Latinos

State of Hispanic Homeownership
Policy Report Housing & Homelessness

State of Hispanic Homeownership