Berkeley

Jose R. Aguilar is currently a PhD student in the Policy, Politics, and Leadership program at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Additionally, he serves as the External Affairs Vice President of the Graduate Assembly for the 2025-2026 academic year. His research employs natural language processing, machine learning, and social network analysis to investigate how institutional discourse, algorithmic decision-making, and education policy influence postsecondary access and equity for marginalized students. Before Berkeley, Jose earned his M.A. in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University and dual B.A./B.S.A. degrees in Government, Latina/o Studies, and Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, he was a high school teacher in computer science and math in Los Angeles and worked on education policy research at Education Trust–West, the Campaign for College Opportunity, and the Lumina Foundation.

Email: eavp-ga@berkeley.edu

Davis

Victoria Salemme (She/her)

Email: gsaexternalvicepresident@ucdavis.edu

Irvine

Rebecca Angela Ruiz (They/She/Elle) is a 4th year PhD student at UC Irvine in the Criminology, Law & Society program. Studies violence (state and interpersonal), immigration, public policy, labor trafficking, and critical criminology.

Email: vpexternal@ags.uci.edu

Los Angeles

Email: 

Merced

Email:

Riverside

Gregory Blake Hutchins is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in thePolitical Science Department at the University of California, Riverside. His concentrations are in Mass Political Behavior and International Relations. Currently, Gregory’s research interests are in the politics of housing and homeless; specifically, how perceptions of deservingness of the unsheltered impact people's policy preferences towards the unsheltered. In his department, Gregory also serves as the department's Graduate Student Chair and also serves as the UCR GSA Vice President of External Affairs for the 2025-2026 academic year. He also serves as Senior Advisor (former Chief of Staff) and Lead Graduate Researcher for UCR's Inland Empire Labor and Community Center. He is also a proud rank-and-file member, and delegate to the IE Labor Council for UAW 4811.

In addition to his academic work, Greg is also a member of thePick Group of Young Professionals, a network of young community members working towards engaging Riverside to be a better place to live while pursuing excellence in the workplace, where he serves as the Vice-Chair of the Civic engagement committee. Additionally, Gregory is also a Commissioner on Riverside City's Budget Engagement Commission.

Email: vpea.gsa@gmail.com

San Diego

Email: vpexternal@gsa.ucsd.edu

UC San Francisco (academic)

Gabe Avillion (he/him) is a second-year PhD student in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program at UCSF, where he currently serves as the Executive Vice President for the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Gabe is a member of the Villeda lab, where his research focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and interventions to restore cognition in aged individuals. He previously studied cardiac developmental biology at UC San Diego, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology as well as his Master of Science in Biology. Gabe is passionate about supporting his community and advocating for student needs. He is committed to improving student representation at the level of university administration and seeks to improve transparency for students while defending members of our community.

Email: francesco.dallaricca@ucsf.edu

UC San Francisco (professional)

Margaret Akey is currently a medical student at the University of California, San Francisco, where she serves as the External Vice President for the Graduate and Professional Student Association as well as President of the Associated Students of the School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from UCLA.

Margaret is passionate about medical education and is engaged in research and advocacy to support LGBTQ+ medical students. She also works on global health equity research, exploring ways to expand equitable, bidirectional clinical training opportunities between U.S. academic medical centers and low- and middle-income country institutions. She is particularly interested in identifying policy solutions to reduce barriers for international medical students and graduates seeking hands-on clinical experiences in the U.S.

One of Margaret’s core beliefs is that community building is essential to resilience. She is dedicated to creating pathways that elevate student voices to respond to the ever-changing political landscape and address emerging challenges.

Email: brandon.chu@ucsf.edu

UC Santa Barbara

Sarah Bacon (she/her) is a public leader, strategist, and advocate with experience in organizational leadership spanning public higher education, nonprofit governance, and corporate management. A Master’s student in Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara and former technology executive, she brings a unique perspective and a systems-thinking approach to policymaking and working collaboratively to drive institutional change. Sarah’s research and work focuses on democratic renewal, public life, and how belief systems inform governance and policy. As Vice President of External Affairs for UCSB’s Graduate Student Association, she leads UC-wide, state, and federal advocacy on behalf of 3,000+ graduate students and represents graduate interests in multiple Academic Senate and Chancellor-appointed committees.

Email: gsa-vpea@ucsb.edu

UC Santa Cruz

Email: : gsaevp@ucsc.edu