Paula Nazario

Paula Nazario is passionate about social justice and educational equity, with a strong commitment to enhancing educational opportunities for low-income students of color. After college, Paula worked in the nonprofit sector and assisted first-generation students with the college application process and noticed there were too many barriers preventing students from applying and enrolling in college. During her graduate studies, Paula served as a Monica Salinas policy fellow at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI). In this role, she focused on critical issues affecting Latino communities, including COVID-19 relief programs, criminal justice reform, economic mobility, and more. Paula has also made significant contributions to published reports and research on Latinx and education issues, covered in both English and Spanish media.

Currently, Paula works at UCLA, where she leads research in family and community engagement in computer science education, to build the capacity of community-based organizations serving parents, students, and low-income families of color to advocate for equity in computer science education in California. Paula’s dedication to elevating the voices of underrepresented students in higher education through data and research led her to join the Campaign.

Paula is a first-generation college graduate and holds an M.P.P. and B.A. in Political Science, both from UCLA.