Elizabeth Rocha Zuñiga 

CHCI Child Welfare Postgraduate Fellow   

Hometown: Marysville, California  

School: University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law  

Degree: Juris Doctor   

Placement: The Office of Senator Alex Padilla

Elizabeth (she/her/ella) is one of four children to immigrant parents who arrived in Los Angeles, California from Guanajuato, Mexico. She was born in Orange County and her hometown is Marysville, California. She takes immense pride in being Chicana. Being raised in underserved communities, Elizabeth understood first-hand the positive impact resources have on those in need. This realization at an early age stayed with her as she continued to see the consistent lack of investments within her community. Her hope to cultivate a more humane and just world comes from her personal lived experiences and the stories she hears. Her family continues to be the foundation of her advocacy and her consistent source of inspiration.    

Elizabeth attended California State University, Fresno where she obtained her B.A. in Political Science and Chicano Latin American Studies. While there, she was entrusted by her peers to serve on student government, leading her to become one of the first Latina Student Body Presidents. She was elected to serve on the California State Student Association as the Civic Engagement Officer for the Central Region campuses. She was a co-founder of the IGNITE chapter, a Maddy Institute legislative intern for Governor Gavin Newsom and Congressman Jim Costa. Through her participation on campus, statewide, and federal advocacy, she knew her heart was in public service. With the desire to advance justice, she pursued her Juris Doctor with a concentration in Capital Lawyering at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. In May of 2024, she graduated law school and was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Principally, Elizabeth cherishes the experience of serving as Co-President of the Latinx Law Students Association. She is published in the McGeorge 2022 California Initiative Review, co-author with Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz on a law review article titled Avoiding DEIBA Failure through the University of Toledo School of Law and helped organize the LatCrit Biennial Conference at Cornell Law School. Elizabeth was a student in the Legislative and Public Policy Clinic and had the honor of strengthening her legal skills at California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. as a Dan Bradley Fellow, and at Central California Legal Services.   

As a CHCI Child Welfare Postgraduate Fellow, she looks forward to learning about the federal legislative process, engaging in policy discussions, and embracing all that comes with being a CHCI fellow.