Vanessa Aguiar

CHCI Public Policy Fellow Presented by Open Society
Hometown: San Luis, Arizona
School: Arizona State University
Degree: B.A. in Global Studies; B.A. in Philosophy; B.A. in Political Science; B.A. in French
Placement: The Office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Vanessa (She/Her) was born in Yuma, Arizona and raised in San Luis, Arizona– a border town home to many farmworker and immigrant families. She is a daughter of two farmworker parents from Guadalajara, Jalisco and San Luis R.C., Sonora and a proud first-generation college graduate. Aguiar graduated from Arizona State University with honors and four Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Philosophy (Morality, Politics, and Law), Global Studies, and French. 

During the first year of her undergraduate career, Vanessa became involved with CHCI as a congressional intern. Later that year, she pursued an internship with the Office of Congressman Grijalva, meanwhile becoming the first Spanish translator at the ASU State Press. Her love for the state legislature sparked when she began her experience as an Arizona State Senate Page. Vanessa also worked as a policy analyst for her University and contributed to preparing memos for the University’s President. Recently, she worked as a legislative intern with the Arizona Department of Economic Security and was later promoted to work as a financial analyst. 

As a CHCI Public Policy Fellow, she hopes to learn more about the policy-making process and how it compares to the State legislature and find new means of making the Hill a more inclusive place that welcomes more people that look and sound like her. After the fellowship, Vanessa looks to attend law school with an interest in intellectual property law.