Victoria Lewis is a dual Master of Public Policy and Master of Social Welfare student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Prior to starting at UCLA Luskin, Victoria was working toward her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) as part of the Program in Medical Education – Leadership and Advocacy (PRIME-LA). PRIME-LA is a dual degree program that trains future physician leaders to advocate for the health and well-being of underserved communities. While at the DGSOM, Victoria served as the Co-Chair of the PRIME-LA Student Council where she helped facilitate mentorship opportunities, academic support services, and community service opportunities for students. Victoria also served for two years as a representative on the PRIME Statewide Council where she worked collaboratively with PRIME programs throughout California to improve communication across the programs and to increase PRIME’s advocacy efforts on the local and state level. Target advocacy areas for the Statewide Council included health inequities, poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity in underserved communities.

Victoria’s policy interests center around the social determinants of physical and mental health including poverty alleviation, economic justice, access to social services, and health care equity. While at UCLA Luskin, Victoria served on the Student Advisory Board for the Institute on Inequality and Democracy and has worked closely with Torie Osborn, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s Senior Strategist, as part of the Senior Fellows Leadership Program. Victoria has also been actively engaged in research, working on projects that seek to improve mental health services for severely mentally ill individuals in Los Angeles County, increase resiliency among LGBTQ youth struggling with symptoms of depression, and enhance community-campus partnerships through the UCLA Center for Community Learning.

Victoria is honored to be working with the Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity as a 2019-2020 Bohnett Fellow. She is looking forward to working on projects that promote the well-being and economic prosperity of all individuals living in the city of Los Angeles.