Monica Valencia

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ALAS Board Member

Monica Valencia is a Los Angeles native born to immigrant parents from Mexico and identifies as LGBTQ. Prior to attending college, Monica served her country for six years in the U.S. Air Force with station appointments in the U.S., South Korea, and Germany. After returning home to California with an honorable discharge, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Human Rights at the University of Southern California. Monica received several academic awards and fellowships, including the McNair Scholarship, Mellon Mays Fellowship and graduated magna cum laude with one of the highest honors; the Order of the Laurel and the Palm. Monica went on to receive her juris doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law with a public interest law specialty and was the recipient of the “Pursuit of Justice” award at her graduation. During law school, Monica founded the non-profit, Dreamer Fund, which assists undocumented students in attending law school with a specialized lens in education equity. She is currently the co-executive director of the Dreamer Fund and she hopes to continue focusing on movement building with the undocumented community through policy work, fundraising, community engagement, and grassroots collaborations. Monica is also an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of law and a Commissioner for the City of Modesto. In her spare time, she loves to travel, adventure, paint, write poetry and is deeply passionate about street photography.