WPI State
WPI-State is a policy advocacy and leadership training fellowship for advocates and activists who work in non-profit or grassroots organizations. We accept applications from genderqueer and non-binary people, cisgender and transgender women, and transgender men, especially BIPOC folks, who want to build their skills, on behalf of their organizations, to influence public policymaking at the state level.
At its core, WPI-State affirms that the people closest to the problems and harm should be centered and shaping the solutions to address them. WPI-State seeks to diversify the policy arena by building the leadership of people impacted by gender-based oppression, violence, and discrimination. Each year the WFC chooses specific intersectional issue areas for WPI fellows to advance. Check out our past policy wins.
WPI-State Issue Areas:
The Women’s Foundation California’s Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) focuses on shaping just policies that will positively impact the lives of non-binary and genderqueer people, cisgender and transgender women, and transgender men in California. This year, WPI-State aims to feature teams working to address racism, anti-Blackness, and cis-hetero-patriarchy through the following specific areas:
For grassroots leaders and community organizations that work to create places where families and communities are healthy, safe as is possible within our current systems. Health includes more than physical conditions; health has social, cultural and economic impacts on the well-being of communities. Health is also determined by racial, gender and economic circumstances, with direct ties to the history of anti-Blackness and oppression in our country.
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Catherine Garoupa White
Executive Director
Swati Sharma
Research and Policy Consultant
Felisa Vallejo
Program Assistant
Patricia Leal-Gutierrez
Program Manager
Héctor Plascencia
Board Member
For grassroots leaders and community organizations that work to address the harmful and oppressive impacts that the criminal justice system has on the lives of Californians, especially those impacted by racial and gender injustice.
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Claudia J. Gonzalez
Policy Advocate & Economic Security Coach
Katie Dixon
Fair Chance Community Organizer
Leah Daoud
Policy Associate
Kelly Savage-Rodriguez
Program Coordinator
Zakiya Prince
Campaign Lead/Manager
For representatives of organizations that work or support programs around police reform Californians, especially those impacted by gender injustice. This includes protecting low-wage and informal workers such as sex workers, advocating for the expansion and improved implementation of safety net programs, strengthening the diversity and size of the state workforce, and establishing standards for economic security.
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Elizeth Virrueta
Team Lead Youth Organizer
Erika Céspedes
Network Director
Briana Zweifler
Youth Law & Policy Attorney
Rocio Zamora
Community Organizer/Outreach Specialist
Chloe Cheney-Rice
Mental Health Therapist
For grassroots leaders and community organizations that work or support programs that focus on the economic security of individuals impacted by systemic gender-based discrimination. This includes organizing low-wage and informal workers, advocating for better implementation of safety net programs, local workforce development, and the promotion of small business ownership.
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Vanessa Teran
Policy & Communications Associate
Sunhee Kim
DV Program Manager
Esmeralda Flores
Immigrant Rights and Binational Affairs Advocate
Alma Lopez
Executive Director
Lucia Mattox
Policy & Outreach Associate
For grassroots leaders and community organizations that work to support programs that expand and protect the rights of all people to make informed decisions about and exercise control over their sexual and reproductive lives.
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Trina Greene Brown
Executive Director
Jessica Navarro
Administrative and Project Coordinator
Gina Moore
Southern California Organizer
Nikki Lanshaw
Project Director
Tanisha Payton
Policy and Research Associate
For grassroots leaders and community organizations that work to reduce the negative impacts that violence and harassment, which is often gender-based, has on the lives of Californians.
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Adrianna Griffith
Interim Volunteer and Outreach Program Coordinator
Jaden Fields
Co-Director
Carielle Escalante
DV Regional Coordinator
Laura Alberti
Prevention Coordinator
Estefany Garcia
Alumni Organizing Coordinator