Rocio Perez
27th Class, 2020-2021

Rocio Perez is a first-generation Latina who was born and raised in Downtown Los Angeles. Growing up in a low-income and predominantly undocumented community, Rocio learned how to navigate educational, legal, and health barriers that influenced her public service career. She has staffed a bill aimed at protecting low-income workers under CalFresh and CalWORKs, provided post-release services to Central American unaccompanied minors on behalf of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and contributed to detention research by the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ) to successfully secure $4.7 million in state funding for deportation defense services. In the future, Rocio plans to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy to shape immigration policy that protects immigrant communities in all social, political and economic domains of society.

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Rhiley Allbee
10th Class, 2019-2021

Rhiley’s passion lies in facilitating sustainable and harmonious relationships between people and their environments. She completed a MS at Michigan Technological University in Forest Ecology as a part of the Peace Corps Master’s International program in spring 2019. Her master’s thesis focused on local perceptions of forest change over a 30-year period in the region of Kaffrine, Senegal, where she served as an Agroforestry Extension Agent with the United States Peace Corps from 2015-2017. Through this work, Rhiley empowered small-holder farmers by facilitating the implementation of improved practices and techniques related to agroforestry and sustainable agriculture, ultimately leading to increased productivity, yields, and food security. Prior to becoming a Leland Fellow, Rhiley worked for the non-profit organization the Forest Stewards Guild in Santa Fe, New Mexico that promoted sustainable forest management through ecologically, economically, and socially responsible forestry practices. Her undergraduate degree is in Biology with minors in Sociology and Chemistry from Saginaw Valley State University.

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