Andrea Escobar (she/her/ella) is a current Master of Public Policy candidate at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she focuses on advancing equity, representation, and inclusive policymaking. Her goal is to strengthen the connection between policy design and community voice, particularly ensuring that policy agendas are responsive to and shaped by the needs of historically underrepresented communities.
An experienced policy and program strategist, Andrea is committed to building pathways for communities to influence state-level decision-making. She currently serves as a Policy and Programs Senior Associate at Unseen, where she coordinates the 2026 California Health, Wealth & Dignity Agenda, a statewide initiative aligning Latino leaders and partner organizations around a unified policy platform. In this role, she organizes convenings across California, translates complex policy research into accessible narratives, and designs engagement strategies that expand community power in policy debates.
Previously, Andrea served as a Cabinet Affairs Assistant in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, where she supported the implementation and tracking of the administration’s policy objectives and key results (OKRs). She conducted research and prepared policy briefs for senior advisors, coordinated with agency undersecretaries on cross-agency initiatives, and produced a daily memo informing the Governor and executive team on statewide policy developments. This experience strengthened her expertise in policy analysis, project management, and strategic communication at the highest level of state government.
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Andrea is a proud daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador. She graduated from Seattle University in 2020 with BA in Political Science with a Specialization in Legal Studies and a Minor in World Religions. Andrea is excited to be placed in the Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs as a 2026–2027 David Bohnett Fellow, where she hopes to advance coordinated state and federal advocacy, particularly in efforts to support wildfire recovery and ensure impacted communities receive the resources they need. I look forward to especially developing a deeper understanding of intergovernmental strategy while contributing to high-level policy research, coalition-building, and cross-agency collaboration that drives the City’s priorities forward.