Celina Avalos Jaramillo serves as the Advocacy Campaign Strategist in the Elections and Government program, where she focuses on issues related to election security, election administration, and money in politics.
Before joining the Brennan Center, Celina served as a policy consultant for the UC Berkeley School of Law Policy Advocacy Clinic on the impacts fees and fines have on adults in the criminal legal system in Oregon. She also served as the first voting rights trainer for the Prepared to Vote and Voting Rights Defender program at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Why are you voting this year?
I’m voting this year to ensure that mine and generations to come can live and exist in a safe, affordable, and healthy community.
What changes do you want to see in your community?
Young people have faced the dire consequences of the pandemic, climate change, increasingly high cost of living, college debt, housing insecurity — and many more challenges — which have drastically impacted our livelihood. These are issues that I hope we can address head-on to continue building resilient communities.
How do you feel about this year’s election and what’s on the ballot?
Every election presents it’s own challenges. Yet every time, I feel optimistic for the change we can accomplish together to achieve real progress in our communities.
What would you say to change the mind of someone who doesn’t plan to vote?
Voting gives us a real opportunity to decide on the policies and issues that matter most to us. If our vote didn’t matter, they wouldn’t make it so hard for people to vote.
What’s your voting plan?
Voting by mail.
On Election Day, where do you plan to watch the election results?
With community.
About Celina:
Celina Avalos Jaramillo serves as the Advocacy Campaign Strategist in the Elections and Government program, where she focuses on issues related to election security, election administration, and money in politics.
Before joining the Brennan Center, Celina served as a policy consultant for the UC Berkeley School of Law Policy Advocacy Clinic on the impacts fees and fines have on adults in the criminal legal system in Oregon. She also served as the first voting rights trainer for the Prepared to Vote and Voting Rights Defender program at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
She previously served as a Voting Section intern at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris, and was the first Policy Fellow at the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute.
Celina earned her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of California, Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy with a certificate in Security Policy. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
