Vivian Vanessa Cruz
VIVIAN VANESSA CRUZ (she/her/hers) is a first year graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. An incoming Policy Fellow within the UCLA LPPI Research Department, she is passionate about learning how to use qualitative research to solve environmental challenges and ultimately influence policy towards data-driven solutions that incorporate marginalized communities, from conception to implementation.
Prior to graduate school, Vivian worked for the State Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery where she focused on environmental policy and regulations for five years. Prior to state service she interned for the City of Woodlands Environmental Services where she helped educate businesses on organic waste collection. Vivian first became interested in a career in environmental policy after working as a student assistant for her university’s Sustainability Office while pursuing her bachelor’s degree.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Vivian is a proud first-generation Honduran-American Latina. She earned her B.A in International Relations with a minor in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from the University of California, Davis.
