Matsui Center Cal-in-Sacramento Fellows

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2023 Diversity and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

October 6, 2023 12:00pm - 2:30pm

In Spring of 2021, the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded a grant of more than $333,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to launch a two-year Diversity and Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program. The new initiative expands Berkeley undergraduate research, advocacy and internship experiences that focus on how small businesses, especially those that are POC (People of Color)- and women-owned, are faring across California and what can be done to strengthen them. IGS’s Diversity and...

IGS Diversity and Entrepreneurship Initiative

The Diversity and Entrepreneurship Initiative

The Diversity and Entrepreneurship Initiative expands Berkeley undergraduate research, advocacy and experiential learning focused on the political and economic challenges faced by diverse entrepreneurs in California.

About the Fellowship

The Diversity and Entrepreneurship Fellowship supports rigorous undergraduate research on topics related to POC- and women-owned small businesses in California. Each year, the Matsui Center selects up to 10 students from the incoming...

2024 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

September 18, 2023 6:30pm - 8:00pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship & Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 18 | 6:30-8 p.m. | 119 Philosophy Hall

Speaker: Megan Collins, Institute of Governmental Studies

Sponsor: Institute of Governmental...

2022 Diversity and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium

September 30, 2022 9:30am - 4:00pm

In Spring of 2021, the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded a grant of more than $333,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to launch a two-year Diversity and Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program. The new initiative expands Berkeley undergraduate research, advocacy and internship experiences that focus on how small businesses, especially those that are POC (People of Color)- and women-owned, are faring across California and what can be done to strengthen them. IGS’s Diversity and...

2023 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

September 22, 2022 6:30pm - 8:00pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship & Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 22 | 6:30-8 p.m. | 119 Moses Hall

Speaker: Megan Collins, Institute of Governmental Studies

Sponsor: Institute of Governmental Studies...

Allyson Velez

Class of 2022
2022 John Gardner Fellowship
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2021 Cal-in-Sacramento
2021 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: California Health & Human Services Agency Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Raised in an immigrant household in Southern California, Allyson is passionate about creating solutions to health care challenges marginalized communities face. At an early age, Allyson’s father was diagnosed with a chronic health condition that required frequent interactions with the health care system. Through this experience, she became acutely aware of the high cost of health care and its disproportionate impact on BIPOC and low-income families....

Beck Tran

Class of 2024
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento Student Director
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento
2023 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow

Beck Tran is a second-generation Vietnamese Taiwanese American. They grew up with two immigrant parents, one of whom was a refugee from Vietnam, resulting in their early exposure to issues regarding immigration, language barriers, and racial discrimination. As an aspiring attorney who is studying Legal Studies and Asian American Studies in their undergraduate education, they are especially driven to improve issues regarding diverse representation in positions of power, social equity for ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities, and diversity in business.

They are the 2022...

Irene Virginia Kou

Class of 2026
2024 Cal-in Sacramento Student Director
2024 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
2023 Cal-in-Sacramento

Irene Kou (she/they) is a sophomore intending to major in legal studies at UC Berkeley. Growing up as a first-generation, Asian American student living in a low-income community, she wants to further her understanding of the challenges she and others have faced first-hand. This past summer, she served as Co-Student Director for Cal-in-Sacramento and interned at the Federal Defender’s Office. She also researched the generational differences in Asian communities using Holistic versus Western medicine. For the 2023-2024 cohort, Irene will serve again as Student Director and aims to...

Yvette Hernandez

Class of 2024
2022 Cal-in-Sacramento
2022 Diversity & Entrepreneurship Fellow
Placement: Placement Location: Sacramento, California

Yvette Hernandez is a first-generation Chicana student majoring in Public Health and minoring in Public Policy. Yvette is passionate about making higher education and healthcare affordable for working-class families.

Yvette’s interest in improving the healthcare system began during her internship at a family medical clinic, where she experienced working with patients and saw firsthand the flaws in the system. The lack of diversity, the need for preventive care, and the growing number of...