Rhys Hedges, Campaign Intern: Rhys is currently a student at the University of San Francisco studying Politics with a minor in Peace & Justice Studies, and they are set to graduate Fall 2024. They attended public school in Thousand Oaks, CA for their K-12 schooling, then attended Santa Barbara City College from 2019-2022. In Santa Barbara County, they worked at a public school as a lacrosse coach due to their passion for both the sport & public education. Rhys experienced the state’s lack of public school funding throughout their life, but their family’s dedication to education allowed them to thrive despite numerous hurdles. Rhys hopes their time at Evolve will further their fervor for non-profit work, community organizing, and education. In their free time, Rhys enjoys reading, exploring San Francisco, and spending time with friends.

Vivian Rodriguez, Campaign Intern: Vivian is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Public Health with minors in Education and Chicanx Studies. She grew up in the East Bay and attended schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District until college where she realized just how underfunded and inequitable her education had been. As a first-generation, low-income student, getting to Berkeley was a hard transition and sprouted passion in closing the gap that future students from under-resourced backgrounds often face. Vivian continues to help high school juniors and community college students prepare their personal essay questions when applying to 4-year universities while also being an after-school teacher in her community. For fun, she likes to dye and cut hair, decorate her room, and rewatch Kick’n It.

Delany Moreno, Campaign Intern: Delany recently graduated University of California–Berkeley with a Bachelors in Political Science. Born and raised in Southern California, her parents immigrated from Michoacan, Mexico. She is the first in my family to attend a UC school. Her passion for advocacy and equity in California public schools stem from her experience attending public school in the Los Angeles area and the limited college resources provided to students. When her school district began censoring books students were allowed to read, she became more involved in organizing student speakers at school board meetings and requesting signatures for petitions. While this was many years ago, Delany is still driven to make sure California public school students like me have access to the best educational experience possible without any sort of financial or social barriers