Ruby Chan-Frey was born and raised in Oakland, California in a third-generation Chinese-American household. She studied with the Race, Policy and Law Academy at Oakland Technical High School, where she became acutely aware of the gaps in education access for low-income BIPOC communities through experience, and of the intricately devastating American incarceration policies through her studies. These experiences prompted her to pursue legal and policy issues of social inequity with a focus on racialized incarceration policy and education access barriers. Beginning her studies at American University in Washington, DC, Ruby then transferred to UC Berkeley, where she’ll be graduating in 2025 with a Legal Studies major.
Involved in community organizing since freshman year of high school, Ruby has done extensive work with various grassroots and non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area from Migrant Clinicians Network to Oakland Kids First, and worked alongside former HUD Secretary Julián Castro as well as grassroots Congressional Candidate Reverend Wendy Hamilton, current ANC Commissioner 8D06 in Washington, DC. She’s spent many hours canvassing on street corners in rain or shine, and is interested in exploring the relationship between local and federal government as a means of community-oriented policy change. At UC Berkeley, Ruby is part of Berkeley Model United Nations, a team that approaches Model UN as a tool of educational mobility, as well as Asian Pacific American Pre-Law Association, which fosters community and connection between APA students, an underrepresented demographic in the legal field. Ruby is also a coordinator for the Cal VSA Lion Dance team and plays for the Cal Women’s Club Lacrosse team.
After graduating, Ruby plans to get her JD and work as a public defender, before eventually pursuing a career centered around incarceration justice policy work.
Major(s): Legal Studies