Gema Quetzal (she/her), Policy Associate, received her Bachelor’s Degree in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University in 2023. Gema has been an active community organizer in East Oakland since high school, where she passionately advocated for education equity and immigrant rights.

In 2020, Gema worked with Oakland Youth Vote (Measure QQ) as an Integrated Voter Engagement Organizer for a campaign aimed at lowering the voting age for school board elections in Oakland to 16 years old. As an organizer, she played a crucial role in engaging voters through social media, recruiting volunteers, and providing political education. Gema takes great pride in stating that Measure QQ was successfully passed thanks to the inspiring leadership of Oakland youth.

During her time at Stanford University, Gema served as an Ethnic Theme Associate at the Latinx Dorm, Casa Zapata, where she led educational programming and community building. In 2022, she was selected as a Stanford University, Yale Law School Liman Fellow, an opportunity that allowed her to work with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights for San Francisco's Immigrant Justice Program, where she gained valuable insights into the asylum process.

For her senior project, Gema created a touching zine titled “A Love Letter to Central American Women and Femmes,” dedicated to the women and femmes who have influenced her life. This meaningful zine centers on themes of love, care, and healing as a powerful form of resistance against state violence and machismo, conveyed through a collection of letters dedicated to Central American women and femmes.

Looking ahead, Gema hopes to continue to work toward policies that prioritize love and healing, and working towards the creation of thriving and healthy communities.