*Justice, Mental Health, and Equity. Identify as Queer Latinx Indigenous Immigrant. Self-Awareness. Intellectual Curiosity.*

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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.