Anahi has alway been an advocate for others, in fact in her mothers home is a third grade report card with the additional comment which reads “Outspoken in areas of justice, Anahi’s an advocate for all who need a voice”. As the granddaughter of immigrants, system-impacted youth and former community college student, Anahi Ruvalcaba is dedicated and passionate about the issues of higher education affordability and accessibility and juvenile justice reform.
Anahi began advocating for students as an intern for her community college's Public Policy School (PPS). Lobbying for policy change benefitting community college students allowed her to learn about California’s legislative and budgetary cycle. Overall, Anahi was a champion for 115 community colleges in California, and served as her college’s student body president of over 24,000 students.
While at UC Berkeley, Anahi has continued her lobbying efforts for students with Cal’s student government (ASUC) External Affairs Vice President's office as a Federal Government Relations Associate, researching and lobbying in Washington D.C. on priorities like higher education affordability and accessibility, voting rights, immigration and environmental justice.
As a member of the Juvenile Justice systems collaborative in Fresh LifeLines for Youth, Anahi advocates for incarcerated youth by offering insight and working closely with the Santa Clara chief at probation in an effort to reform juvenile justice and interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Anahi is committed towards providing more treatment and rehabilitative services for youth closer to home.
As a Schaeffer fellow, Anahi hopes to gain experience in government service in Washington, D.C. Anahi is particularly interested in expanding her experience in legislative advocacy and foreign or public policy. As an aspiring policy maker Anahi is committed to advocating for a more equitable society for all.