4 Black Policy Movers and Shakers You Should Know

It’s no secret that we have an amazing network of powerful change-makers, especially our WPI alum. Our alum work to create real and lasting change in our workplaces, our schools, and our communities one piece of legislation at a time. As we celebrate Black history, we also want to acknowledge Black futures and highlight four amazing Black WPI alum using community-led solutions, heart, and strategic savvy to get it done.

From working to create equal access to proper maternal care to addressing the discrimination faced by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, these alum are the policy experts who lead our communities and champion justice.

Diamond Lee
WPI Local Class of 2020 – LA Doula Team

Diamond Lee, MSW, ACSW is a racial equity advocate, trainer, and clinician. Her academic and professional career has focused on applying a racial equity framework to a range of system change efforts including, criminal justice reform, Black infant and maternal health, mental health, and other social problems. Learn More

Kalyn Dean
WPI State Class of 2020

Kalyn Dean is a legislative advocate and registered lobbyist at the ACLU of Northern California’s Center for Advocacy and Policy in Sacramento, where she works on statewide legislation in the issue areas of criminal justice, racial & economic justice, police practices, and technology & civil liberties. Learn More

Lauren Babb
WPI State Class of 2020

Lauren Babb is a community leader and has spent the last nine years on a series of federal, state, and local campaigns. She was a 2020 Women’s Policy Institute- State Fellow on the reproductive health, rights, and justice team and helped pass SB 1237: The Justice & Equity in Maternity Care Act which removed “physician supervision” for California’s Certified Nurse-Midwives. Lauren is currently an alumna state fellow of the Women’s Policy Institute working to pass AB-1493 (Rubio) Tenancy: Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder abuse bill that would provide greater eviction protections for survivors. Learn More

Vonya Quarles
WPI State Class of 2013

Vonya Quarles Esq. is a native Californian and the co-founder of Starting Over, Inc. Starting Over, Inc. has operated for over 10 years, and has helped over 1000 men, women, and children address immediate housing needs while working to address long-term solutions that include systems change. Vonya blends experience, education, logic, and love, into an organic concoction that has helped to organize and lift the voices of people who have been historically marginalized. Learn More

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