Regent Emerita Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza

Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza was the 2021-22 Student Regent. During her term, she was an undergraduate transfer student at the University of California, Berkeley in the department of Geography.

Ms. Zaragoza is a McNair Scholar studying the rural spatial imagination for students of color in access to higher education and plans on pursuing Ph.D. programs in Democracy or Political Sociology upon graduation in 2022. Previously she studied at Modesto Junior College earning honors degrees in Geography and Political Science and certifications in Ethnic Studies and Communications. Her undergraduate honors research projects are in the areas of public education, voting rights, and democracy.

Ms. Zaragoza is the previous student board member in the California Community Colleges from 2018-2020, appointed by Governor Brown. During her time on the CCC board, she served on committees addressing remedial education, ESL accommodations, and faculty diversity. She also had roles on the systemwide Cal Grant Reform workgroup and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, as well as serving as a Trustee to Calbright College—the first fully online community college in the world. In 2018, she also served as a campaign organizer for now-Congressman Josh Harder (D-10).

As a Chicana and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she is passionate about the rights of Indigenous peoples, creating a better campus climate for all UC students—including undocumented students, and fostering greater diversity among students and faculty in the UC system.