Schaeffer Fellowship

Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service

Matthew Aini

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Matt Aini is a campus junior pursuing a BA in Political Science and a BS in Business Administration. A lifelong resident of the East Bay city of Dublin, CA, Matt was curious at a young age about how fast-growing cities like Dublin managed their growth and used community development to improve the quality of life for community members. Borne out of this curiosity has been a mission to advance responsible land use to make communities more sustainable, affordable, and connected. Matt has been proudly serving his community as a member of the Dublin Planning Commission since 2022, where...

Noor Alramadan

Class of 2026
2025 Washington Fellow
2025 Schaeffer Fellowship
2024 Cal-in-Sacramento
2024 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Noor Alramadan is a driven, first-generation third-year studying media studies with a concentration in media law and policy and a minor in education. As the daughter of immigrant parents in a dual-heritage household from Nicaragua and Iraq, her upbringing has shaped her values toward education and human rights advocacy. She is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in higher education and professional spaces, grounded by her experiences growing up in Chula Vista and attending public K-12 schools.

Her passion for public service is rooted in her experience as a longtime Girl...

Daniel Bui

Class of 2023
2023 Schaeffer Fellowship
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento

Daniel Bui is currently a fourth year majoring in Political Science with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. Born in Oakland to two Vietnamese refugees, he has experienced hardships faced by working-class households, communities of color and refugees in the area. With so many aspects of his life being shaped by government programs and initiatives, he holds a deep passion for exploring public policy and governance—particularly in areas regarding affordable housing, education equity, and socioeconomic mobility. Daniel hopes to one day serve and connect marginalized communities with...

Antonio Cáceres

Class of 2025
2025 John Gardner Fellowship
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship

Antonio Cáceres, a senior at UC Berkeley, is dedicated to tackling economic inequality through housing and education policy reform. Driven by a passion for meaningful and lasting change, he seeks to apply his academic and leadership experience to build more equitable systems that uplift marginalized communities.

Currently studying History with a minor in Public Policy, Antonio specializes in Latin American history and antiquity, with a particular interest in the intersections between historical events and contemporary policy challenges. His...

Shawn Canin

Class of 2026
2025 Schaeffer Fellowship

Shawn Ree Canin is a first-generation immigrant and transfer student at the University of California, Berkeley, pursuing degrees in Legal Studies and Media Studies with a focus on Media Law and Policy. Raised by a single mother who worked as a public servant, Shawn's early experiences ignited his passion for public service and his dedication to community advocacy. With a keen interest in immigration and labor laws, he aspires to bridge gaps in legislation to better serve immigrant and marginalized populations, ensuring their needs are represented and addressed in both...

Megan Chan

Class of 2026
2025 Schaeffer Fellowship

Megan Chan is a third-year student at UC Berkeley studying Political Science with double minors in Public Policy and Conservation & Resource Studies. Her passions consist of education and environmental policy. Megan’s passions for these fields stem from her upbringing, as she witnessed early on the power of education to uplift and unify communities. Since arriving in Berkeley, she has delved deeper into climate spaces as well, recognizing that both subjects are heavily connected. Through her work and advocacy, she hopes to engage in work within the public sector that...

Ruby Chan-Frey

2023 Schaeffer Fellowship

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...

Hanan Coronado

Class of 2025
2024 Schaeffer Fellowship

Hanan Coronado, a first-generation college student from East Los Angeles, is currently a junior transfer at UC Berkeley, majoring in cultural anthropology with a minor in human rights. Her academic journey centers around unraveling the complex relationships between power, culture, and global human rights issues. Hanan is particularly passionate about addressing pressing challenges such as refugee crises, sexual violence, and human trafficking, with a focus on Latin America and conflict-affected regions.

During her internship at the United States Agency for...

Mairin Culwell

Class of 2023
2022 Schaeffer Fellowship
Placement: Coastal Commission Placement Location:

Mairin Culwell is a rising senior pursuing a simultaneous degree in Political Science and Society and Environment. Growing up in the Bay Area, exposure to Northern California’s fragile ecosystems sparked her interest in the connection between conservation, education, and politics and continues to guide her career goals of advancing environmental protections through governance.

On campus, Mairin enjoys writing for the world section of Berkeley Political Review and...

Anna Maria Diaz

Class of 2023
2024 Percy Undergraduate Grant
2023 Schaeffer Fellowship
2023 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Anna is passionate about serving underserved communities through the lens of the law and legal system. As a Berkeley Peter E. Haas Public Service Leader, she worked for Bay Area JusticeCorps, where she helps self-represented litigants navigate the legal system by providing legal information under the supervision of attorneys. Now, with the Public Service Center’s support she works an as Undergraduate Intern at Marin County Public Defender’s Office. She also is a Student Researcher at the Human Rights Center Investigations Lab at Berkeley Law. Currently, Anna also works as a Law Clerk at a...