Alicia Contreras

Alicia Contreras graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Legal Studies in May of 2021 and joined the CFSY in August 2021. As an undergraduate, she received an opportunity to intern for Speaker Pelosi in her San Francisco office, where she worked with Speaker Pelosi’s staff on constituent casework involving Section 8 housing and immigration services. Alicia also served as an Alternative Breaks leader, a program where students spend their spring break volunteering and servicing historically underserved communities throughout California.

At the beginning of 2020, she participated in the University of California Washington Center (UCDC) program, and was a legislative intern for Senator Sanders on Capitol Hill, and spent time on legislative research projects regarding the Senator’s proposed Medicare for All legislation.  In her senior year, she worked on a semester-long research project on the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, examining the Center’s work in restorative justice alternatives and the impact it has had on the Oakland community. Alicia’s late father’s history of incarceration meant witnessing firsthand the challenges that formerly incarcerated folks face when reentering into society and the long-lasting impacts of the carceral system on them and their families. His subsequent career as a drug and alcohol counselor and passion for community activism inspire her work to this day.

Outside of work, Alicia can be found exploring D.C. on electric scooters and thrift shopping.