Democracy Camp Berkeley

Emily Chamale

Class of 2027
2026 Matsui Local Government Fellowship
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento
2025 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2024 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Emily Chamale Hernandez (she/her)

Born in Guatemala and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Emily Chamale is a first-generation student at UC Berkeley double-majoring in Political Science and Ethnic Studies. Her upbringing in South LA, shaped by systemic underinvestment in immigrant and working-class communities, grounds her commitment to equity and public service. An Ethnic Studies class in high school deepened her political consciousness and sparked her passion for organizing. She further developed her advocacy through four years in the ACLU’s Youth Liberty Squad,...

Richard Ming Zeng

Class of 2028
2025 Democracy Camp in Berkeley
2026 Pathways to Federal Public Service

Richard Zeng is a second-year Political Science major at the University of California, Berkeley, with a minor in Public Policy. Passionate about improving transportation infrastructure through the democratization of public policy, Richard has worked in various student-led policy institutes, creating policy briefs that focus on the creation of climate-conscious energy policy. Richard currently serves as the Executive of Legislation for the Associated Students of the University of California’s Senator Margaret Solomon, where he leads a legislative team that creates student...

Iris De Leon

Class of 2027
2024 Democracy Camp in Berkeley
2026 Pathways to Federal Public Service

Iris De Leon is a third-year Political Science major at the University of California, Berkeley, with a minor in Public Policy. Her academic and professional focus is on advancing labor justice and equitable access to education, specifically on their impacts on immigrant and working-class communities. She has gained experience in labor organizing and coalition building through her internships with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3299. Through Local 3299, Iris helped build student solidarity,...

Lara Zangana

Class of 2026
2026 Schaeffer Fellowship
2025 Cal-in-Sacramento
2025 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2024 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Lara Zangana is a first-generation undergraduate at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Society and Environment and Conservation and Resource Studies. As a Climate and Youth Engagement Fellow with UC Berkeley’s Student Environmental Resource Center, Lara contributed over four hundred hours of public service focused on immigration, housing, and environmental justice. In fall 2024, she also interned at the White House within the Biden Harris Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

This past summer, Lara served as an undergraduate researcher and Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow...

Democracy Camp

Democracy Camp is designed for Cal undergrads who are interested in enhancing our democracy through public service. Students can apply to one of two programs: Democracy Camp in Berkeley, the Matsui Center's alternative spring break program, or Democracy Camp in DC, a weeklong...

Racceb Arikew

Class of 2029
2026 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Racceb Arikew is a first-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Legal Studies with a minor in Journalism. Raised in a low-income immigrant household, she developed an early awareness of how legal systems and public narratives shape access, justice, and opportunity. Her academic interests focus on gender justice, civil rights, and the role of media in amplifying marginalized voices. Through her studies, Racceb aims to combine legal analysis with storytelling to challenge inequity and promote accountability. By participating in Democracy Camp, she hopes to...

Michelle Romero

Class of 2027
2026 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Michelle Romero is a scholar dedicated to serving her community. Her passion for policy and legislation sparked during the 2016 election after watching how mixed status families such as her own, were being discriminated against. Beyond immigration, she is deeply interested in women’s rights and safe, accessible education.

She is a firm believer that under-privileged voices should be uplifted. In her community college she promoted non-partisan student engagement in the polling booths and reformed the active shooter protocol; constantly advocating for student safety. At UC...

Maria Davila

Class of 2029
2026 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Maria Davila is a first-generation student from Southern California, pursuing political science with a strong commitment to civic engagement and public policy. She is currently a Political Science major and she is actively involved in policy research, legal advocacy, and student governance.

At UC Berkeley, Maria serves as a legal intern for the ASUC President, a legal associate for Senator Nikki Nunez Rivera, and a research associate with the Student Policy Institute. Her policy experience includes co-authoring California Assembly Bills AB 1939 and AB 2771...

Zella Carmichael-Price

Class of 2028
2026 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Zella Carmichael-Price (they/she/any) is a pre-law student in her second year at UC Berkeley pursuing a double major in Psychology and Spanish, with a concentration in Hispanic Linguistics. In her free time, she is involved in various organizations, including QARC, CalACLU, Cal Ocean Society, and the ASUC, to provide resources to both on- and off-campus communities. She also enjoys volunteering at Openhouse in San Francisco, giving back to the queer and trans seniors who fought hard for the current rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Growing up in Northern California, the far-...

Vanessa Mombrun

Class of 2028
2026 Democracy Camp in Berkeley

Vanessa is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley and is a proud first-generation, Haitian-American student from Burbank, California. Coming from a multicultural background, she brings a deep appreciation for community, language, and connection into every space she occupies. She first discovered her passion for social justice in high school through her involvement in restorative justice programs aimed at disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as her service on the California Association of Youth Courts Youth Advisory Board. In...