KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ALICIA GARZA (UCSD '02)
Community Organizer & Co-Creator of #BlackLivesMatter
Alicia Garza is an internationally recognized organizer, writer, and public speaker. In 2018, Alicia founded the Black Futures Lab, an organization that designs new ways to build Black political power in cities and states. Alicia dreams of a future where all Black communities have what they need to live well. Her organizing brings together culture change and policy change.
Alicia is the Strategy & Partnerships Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the nation’s premier voice for millions of domestic workers in the United States. With Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, Alicia created #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, a global organizing project to end state violence and oppression against Black people. The Black Lives Matter Global Network now has 40 chapters in 4 countries.
Alicia’s writing has been published in Time, Mic, Marie Claire, The Guardian, Elle.com, Essence Magazine, and The New York Times, and other. She was awarded the 2017 Sydney Peace Prize with Black Lives Matter co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi; Fortune Magazine’s 2016 list of the World’s Greatest Leaders; and was a member of the 2016 Tribunal of the US Black Women’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission held at the United Nations. Alicia is one of the 100 Women We Love named by GO Magazine in 2018, a Fast Company 2017 Most Creative People in Business, and appeared on The Root’s 2016 and 2015 list of 100 African American Achievers and Influencers, as well as the POLITICO 50 Guide to thinkers, doers, and visionaries transforming American politics in 2016. Alicia also received the 2016 Glamour Women of the Year Award, the 2016 Marie Claire New Guard Award, and was named a Community Change Agent at the 2016 BET Black Girls Rock Awards. Her book, The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart is set for release on October 20, 2020.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: DELLARA GORJIAN (CSULB ’17 / UCLA LAW ’20)
Student Declarant, Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California
Dellara Gorjian came to Southern California from Canada with her family when she was 5 years old and is among the estimated 800,000 DACA recipients who would face deportation if the program is rescinded. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was enacted in 2012 by Barack Obama to provide protections for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
Dellara played a prominent role in the University of California’s successful Supreme Court challenge to the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the program. She submitted a declaration as part of the lawsuit, Department of Homeland Security vs. Regents of the University of California, outlining her history and her goal of practicing law in the country where she grew up. Gorjian, whose parents and sibling are U.S. citizens, also advocated for DACA recipients in the media, emphasizing the diversity of people who would be affected adversely by the proposed change in policy.
On June 18, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s effort to end DACA was unconstitutional, though it left the door open for the executive branch to pursue the policy change in the future. Just this week, the administration announced new restrictions to the program as it continues to chart its next move.
In response to receiving the award, Gorjian said, “I am humbled to have had the opportunity to represent DACA recipients in this historic moment, but it is additionally so special to be able to represent UCLA and everything the school stands for in my advocacy efforts. There is so much more to be done, and this recognition inspires me to continue in my efforts to be a leader and an advocate for positive change in the U.S.”