Our Staff and Board
Clarissa Laguardia
Executive Director
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Key Issues - Justice, Mental Health, and Equity.
Identities - Queer Latinx Indigenous Immigrant.
Clarissa grew up in El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War and migrated to the United States after high school. She navigated the immigrant experience much on her own. She swiftly mastered the language and developed a keen curiosity for cross-cultural communication. As an immigrant and former Limited English Proficient individual, she’s passionate about language access and social equity work. She was appointed Language Access Manager by Gov. Brown for the CA Complete Count - Census 2020. She served on the Language Accessibility Advisory Committee at state and county level. At the peak of the pandemic, she launched a grassroots organization, Rethink Language Access. She managed the Newman Civic Fellows program, of which she is an alum, nationwide for Campus Compact. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural/International Communication and master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Sacramento State University. For over a decade, Clarissa has devoted her time to advance civic action as a community advocate and organizer. She’s been recognized by the League of Women Voters, Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and participated in numerous civic leadership programs. As Executive Director, she hopes to expand civic participation programs to engage ALL youth statewide, especially those belonging to historically oppressed groups. On her spare time, she loves hot yoga, going on hikes, gardening, making jewelry, and spending time with her dogs.
Alexandra Leal Silva
Community Impact Coordinator
Key Issues - Equity, Civic Engagement, Education Policy.
Identities - Uruguayan-American Latina, Person of Faith, and Californian for life.
Alexandra Leal Silva (she/her) is a proud first-generation American, passionate about serving her community. Alexandra is the newest Executive Administrative Assistant for our Executive Director, Clarissa Laguardia. Alexandra also serves as the Associate Program Manager for Equis and previously as the Southern California Fellow for IGNITE National. In her previous roles, Alexandra ran the small-donor engagement program, lead the student programs, and managed social media. One of her proudest accomplishments is co-creating and hosting “Democracy Is”, a podcast dedicated to exploring Democracy issues throughout California and how it affects communities. Alexandra loves organizing youth to be activated on the issues that matter most to them and she a deep passion for all things California-related. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History of Public Policy & Law from the University of California, Santa Barbara. At UCSB, she served as the co-chair of Lobby Corp, mobilizing hundreds of students in advocacy & lobbying campaigns. Her team assisted in passing California Senate Bill 24, which ensured access to reproductive healthcare for all CA university students. She also worked as a Basic Needs organizer and raised $20,000 for COVID relief during the start of the pandemic. In her spare time, she loves to read books, try new recipes, and plan her next travel adventure!
Atlas Jackmon
Community Impact Coordinator
Key Issues - Environmental Justice, Food Access.
Identities - Afro-Indigenous, Queer, Disabled.
Atlas Jackmon (they/them) is an artist, poet, activist, and environmental educator. They are passionate about creating pathways for underrepresented communities to access food, nature, and education. Throughout their career, Atlas has partnered with food justice initiatives, community gardens, and grassroots organizations to teach folks how to grow their own food and feed their families nutritious meals. As a grandchild of Caribbean immigrants, food has always been central to Atlas’ understanding of the world – a good meal has a certain way of uniting people. Coming from a long line of Jamaican and Choctaw farmers, Atlas majored in Environmental Studies with a focus on Regenerative Agriculture at Saint Mary’s College of Maryland. Since graduating, they have dedicated much of their free time to learning their ancestral land-tending methods and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).
Sharing stories, recipes, and seeds, Atlas hopes to continue building connections between community-based organizations in Sacramento and beyond. Their work with youth is inspired by a collective vision to foster compassion and ecological consciousness in the next generation. Atlas previously worked as the Environmental Justice Program Manager for Sierra Service Project, where they founded the North Sacramento Environmental Literacy Library. They have also been published in the Trans Farmers Zine, and awarded the Kate Chandler Award for Literature and Study of the Environment.
When they aren’t gardening or writing poetry, Atlas enjoys hiking, painting, and going for motorcycle rides.
Roda Minas
Community Impact Coordinator
Key Issues - Affordable Housing, Education Equity, & Community Empowerment.
Identities - Oromo, Black Immigrant Woman, First-Generation College Graduate, Community Advocate.
Roda Minas (she/her) is a community advocate, nonprofit leader, and civic engagement professional passionate about building pathways for historically underserved communities. Raised in the Bay Area in a low-income immigrant household, Roda’s lived experiences navigating housing insecurity, educational barriers, and systemic inequities deeply shape her work and leadership. As an Oromo and Black immigrant woman, she is committed to advancing equity, representation, and opportunities for communities.
Roda earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Deaf Studies from California State University, Sacramento, and completed her Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership and Management at the University of San Diego. Her passion for housing justice and community empowerment is deeply personal. Growing up in Section 8 housing, Roda later watched her family become homeowners through Habitat for Humanity — an experience that shaped her understanding of stability, opportunity, and the long-term impact community investment can have on families.
Throughout her work, Roda has focused on leadership development, youth engagement, community-centered programming, and creating spaces where people feel empowered to advocate for themselves and their communities. She is especially passionate about supporting youth and expanding accessible pathways into leadership, education, and workforce opportunities.
As Community Impact Coordinator, Roda hopes to help expand inclusive civic engagement efforts that encourage young people across California to feel informed, empowered, and connected to their communities. She believes meaningful change happens when people feel seen, heard, and equipped to participate in shaping the world around them.
Outside of work, Roda enjoys content creation, coffee culture, wellness, creative projects, comedy shows and spending time with the people she loves.
Eddie Rea
Program Manager
Key Issues - Youth Leadership, Disability Justice, Equity, Workforce Development, Community Inclusion, & Education
Identities - Latinx, Person with a Disability, Advocate, Educator.
Eddie Rea is a youth development professional, educator, and program strategist whose work has centered on expanding opportunity for young people, particularly disabled youth and other historically underrepresented communities. His career has spanned workforce development, independent living services, education, and youth leadership development, with a consistent focus on helping people build voice, confidence, and access to opportunity.
He has designed and led programs focused on leadership development, career pathways, civic participation, and community engagement. His work has included managing youth initiatives, cultivating partnerships across education and community systems, mentoring emerging leaders, and helping create inclusive spaces where young people can grow their confidence, skills, and sense of agency.
Raised in California's Central Valley, Eddie’s perspective is shaped by his reality as a second-generation Mexican-American. He brings a strengths-based, empowering approach to his work, moving past traditional deficit narratives to focus on the inherent power, joy, and potential within the Latinx community. As a person with a disability who has navigated learning, mental health, and physical challenges, he brings a strong commitment to access, dignity, equity, and community inclusion in the programs and partnerships he helps build.
A formative influence in his path was participating in the Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities, an experience that deepened his commitment to advocacy and youth leadership and later led to roles supporting organizing and disability inclusion efforts across California and nationwide.
Prior to joining CalCenter, Eddie's work included leadership across workforce development, disability services, youth transition programs, independent living, and community-based education initiatives. His professional path has been defined by building partnerships, strengthening programs, and helping individuals navigate systems that too often feel inaccessible or overwhelming.
As Program Manager at CalCenter, Eddie brings an interdisciplinary background rooted in education, leadership development, systems coordination, and community partnership building to help strengthen youth voice, civic participation, and opportunity across the state.
Board of Directors
Rosie Ramos
BOARD CHAIR
Equity and Engagement Coordinator
Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)
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Jetaun Stevens
BOARD MEMBER
Senior Staff Attorney,
Public Advocates.
Lindee Lane
BOARD MEMBER
Independent Consultant
Mario Vasquez Zuniga
BOARD MEMBER
Founder & CEO,
collective.
Monika Lee
BOARD MEMBER
Chief of Staff to Sacramento City
Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes
Hana Uhler
BOARD MEMBER
CivicSpark Fellow,
Rural County Representatives
of California
Scott Landen
BOARD MEMBER
Student
University of Southern California
Lupe Renteria Salome
BOARD MEMBER
Data Analyst
Equity Research Institute
Stephanie Berumen
BOARD MEMBER
Program Coordinator
Donate Life California
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Maria Lopez de la Cruz
BOARD MEMBER
Associate Director
Stockton Service Corps
Spring 2026 Interns
Kate Kilma
Spring Communications Intern
Kate Klima (she/her) is an artist and undergraduate student. She is passionate about promoting empathy, justice, and education. Kate’s experience as a visual communications manager for school organizations and her volunteer history as a children's mentor with the local non-profit G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento have provided her with active participation in the Sacramento area and have contributed to her dedication to helping her California community.
She is currently studying Sociology at UC Davis, and plans to use her education to help those in need; alongside the California Center for Civic Participation, Kate is excited to interact with and support the Sacramento community.
Zach Radaza
Spring Programs Intern
Zach (he/him) is a Computer Science major at Sacramento State University. Growing up, my family was always civically engaged, which translated into his love for our community and its importance.
He loves building software and problem-solving, but more importantly, he loves his community and making it its best. Outside of that, he loves sports and considers himself a pretty chill guy. You can talk to him about anything, and I would probably be interested.
He can't wait to work with everyone and make a change!
Juniper Landsman-Smith
Spring Programs Intern
Juniper Landsman-Smith (they/them/she/her) is a current first-year student at American River College studying political science. They’re interested in political participation, educational policy, and constitutional law.
They believe strongly in the inclusion of all people in public policy for a healthy democracy, and they hope to use their knowledge to uplift the voices of underrepresented people. They also have a deep connection with nature and love being outdoors. They express their creativity through art and jewelry making.
Founder
James Muldavin
Jim was the Executive Director of the California Center for Civic Participation for almost 40 years. Prior to founding the organization in 1972, Muldavin mowed lawns, scooped ice cream, moved furniture, sorted mail, washed dishes, cleaned buildings, poured beer, drove trucks, worked on the docks, and waited tables. After college at UCSB and working for a political awareness project for Boston area teens founded by his Aunt Albie, he returned to California to establish Capitol Focus, the former flagship program of the CalCenter. He is amazed at the longevity of the organization and grateful for the thousands of youth and adults whose curious spirits, generous hearts and thoughtful minds have made his work so rewarding.
