Vivian Vanessa Cruz
VIVIAN VANESSA CRUZ (she/her/hers) is a second year graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is a Policy Fellow within the UCLA LPPI Research Department, focusing on environmental research. Vivian is passionate about using community-driven quantitative research to help solve environmental challenges and ultimately influence policy towards data-driven solutions that incorporate marginalized communities.
At UCLA, Vivian also holds a staff research associate position with the UCLA Luskin Center of Innovation where she supports drinking water research.Prior to graduate school, she worked for the State Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery where she focused on environmental policy and regulations for five years. Vivian first became interested in a career in environmental policy after working as a student assistant for her university’s Sustainability Office while pursuing her bachelor’s degree.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Vivian is a proud first-generation Honduran-American Latina. She earned her B.A in International Relations with a minor in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from the University of California, Davis.
