Thanh Mai Bercher

Public Health
Undergraduate Award for Civic Engagement

In her time at Berkeley, Thanh has been deeply devoted to public service, with a primary focus on addressing the issue of sexual assault. Thanh has worked in policy, shaping the language of SB-967 (“Yes Means Yes” consent law), helping write Hillary Clinton’s women’s health platform, conducting research on behalf of the Human Rights Center to help rape survivors in Africa, and instituting numerous education programs here at Cal as director of the ASUC Sexual Assault Commission. She has also done direct service, working with Project Hope in the West Bank to help young girls process and overcome trauma they have experienced, and helping health care professionals provide services to over 7,000 patients in Vietnam.

Karen Chapple

City and Regional Planning
Faculty Award for Research in the Public Interest

Dr. Chapple was nominated by Berkeley city councilmember Lori Droste for her work on the Berkeley Planning Commission. As lead researcher on the Urban Displacement Project, Dr. Chapple has worked to address the crucial issue of affordable housing. UDP provides indispensable research and policy recommendations to lawmakers to help them combat displacement and promote housing affordability. Dr. Chapple’s work dramatically influenced the city’s housing action plan and resulted in two successful proposals — the Green Affordable Housing Plan and the Neighborhood Preference (Anti-Displacement) Plan. Though her research spans decades, she has been instrumental in addressing this timely issue in Berkeley for more than three years.

AppCivist for Vallejo Participatory Budgeting, Professor James Holston, Valerie Issarny, Will Morat, Cristhian Daniel

Anthropology, Social Apps Lab at CITRIS, Inria, Vallejo City Manager's Office
Campus-Community Partnership Award

The City of Vallejo takes a unique approach to budgeting and implementing public projects, using a participatory budgeting process that allows citizens and community volunteers to design and implement city programs. AppCivist is a collaboration tool developed by researchers from the Anthropology Department and the Social Apps Lab at Berkeley’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). This app allows community members to submit and comment on proposals, view updates, and more, which improves city-resident collaboration and further solidifies Vallejo’s role as a trailblazer in civic engagement. In the past nine months, Vallejo residents submitted 856 ideas via AppCivist, and then worked together to fine-tune these concepts, ultimately presenting 23 proposals for voting and implementation. AppCivist has helped immensely to empower the citizens of Vallejo.

Jesús Guzmán

Public Policy
Graduate Award for Civic Engagement

Jesús has been an organizer and advocate for day laborers and immigrants since 2007. Jesús has done remarkable work with the Graton Day Labor Center (Centro Laboral de Graton), serving a population that is often neglected by immigration reform. He provides compassionate advocacy and practical assistance every day, registering workers and using his network to help find work for them in the short term, as well as helping them track employment so that they can ultimately apply for citizenship. He was a founder of the DREAM Alliance of Sonoma County (now NBIYU), which was essential to passing the California Dream Act and DACA. JesÚs volunteers while attending graduate school and preparing for the birth of his first child, due this month.

Sarick Matzen & Joshua Arnold

Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Graduate Award for Civic Engagement

Sarick and Joshua have worked together for 3.5 years to establish the Community Soil Health Collaboration. Using their knowledge of science and community organizing, the two act as a team to empower economically depressed urban areas. At a time when rapid economic expansion in the Bay Area is leaving some people behind (especially those in economically depressed industrial areas), Sarick and Joshua work with community members to improve soils for food production and to create a sense of pride and ownership in local communities. Their work, built on participatory action, has led to 11 projects with over 40 community partners and has taught participants how to sample, test, and maintain soil.

Miriam Avilez

Public Health
Robert J. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Recognition Award for Service to Undocumented Students

Miriam has demonstrated a commitment to public service during her time as both an undergraduate and graduate student. As a leader in Borders and Bodies Collective, she has drawn attention to the opportunities at the intersection of public health and immigration. She has worked with D.U.L.C.E. and R.I.S.E. to help bring much-needed attention to health issues facing undocumented immigrants. She has completed field work as a health worker in low-income areas of San Diego and is currently collaborating with the Center for Latino Policy Research to respond to the Trump administration and support fellow undocumented students at UC Berkeley. Overall, Miriam has masterfully integrated her studies with her passion for helping undocumented immigrants and has advocated for a variety of immigrant communities, with significant impacts.

Juan Prieto

English
Robert J. and Mary Catherine Birgeneau Recognition Award for Service to Undocumented Students

Juan is a powerful and positive force in the life of undocumented students at Berkeley, inspiring confidence and hope during these uncertain times. An undocumented student himself, Juan came to Cal as a transfer student and hit the ground running as an advocate for student rights. He is a member of the Undocumented Student Coalition, has served as a co-chair of R.I.S.E., and has played an active role in the Transfer Center and Undocumented Student Program. Last November, Juan bravely shared the challenges of being an undocumented student on campus through an essay he wrote for the New York Times titled “Even at Berkeley, I Face Threats as an Undocumented Student.” Not only did he reach an international audience, but he also showed tremendous courage in proclaiming his undocumented status in such a public way, inspiring fellow students and embodying the principle of “undocumented and unafraid.”

International Refugee Assistance Project at Berkeley Law (IRAP-Berkeley)

UC Berkeley School of Law
Student Group Award for Civic Engagement

IRAP-Berkeley provides a broad range of legal assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugee groups, including military interpreters, LGBTQ individuals, sexual assault survivors, and torture survivors. Students provide many services, including interpretation and legal representation, policy advocacy, and direct service in the Middle East, and more. Students perform casework on the clients’ behalf, fundraise to pay for legal bills and application fees, and lobby for things like policy reform for LGBTQ refugees. Overall, IRAP’s services provide immense assistance to a population that has been facing significant discrimination and demonization recently, all while balancing these efforts with a normal course load.

Ursula Kajani

Public Health
Mather Good Citizen Award

Ursula has demonstrated a remarkable breadth of work, both on and off campus. Her work addresses the roots of social inequity rather than just treating the causes, and it connects her major (Public Health) to how she spends her free time helping others. Before coming to Berkeley, she worked at her community college to provide training for students and faculty on how to provide meaningful service. Now she is a director of Alternative Breaks, a massive service program that organizes service trips for over 100 participants per year. Besides her work with Alternative Breaks, she spent a summer volunteering in Ghana to do public health work, and plans to join the Peace Corps in Rwanda after graduating. She has shown a lifelong commitment to service, and plans to pursue a career in public health.