Citlalli Alvarado 

CHCI Public Policy Fellow   

Presented by PepsiCo Foundation  

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia  

School: New York University  

Degree: B.A. in Education Studies  

Placement: The Office of Representative Jahana Hayes

Citlalli Alvarado (she/her) was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, to immigrant parents from Coahuila and Guerrero, Mexico. Growing up, she was surrounded by a supportive hardworking family who taught her the importance of education to achieve a better life. Citlalli is a proud first-generation college graduate, attending New York University and earning a degree in Education Studies, specializing in Impact and Entrepreneurship, with a minor in Social & Public Policy.     

Before attending college, Citlalli spent a year volunteering with AmeriCorps in Santa Rosa, California. She worked in an under-resourced elementary school in a predominantly Latino community as a literacy tutor, social-emotional mentor, and Spanish translator. This opened her eyes to the inequities that exist in the public education system and the lack of resources and opportunities granted to low-income students of color. Stepping off the classic path of academia to take a gap year was not an easy decision for Citlalli, but one that allowed her to discover her passions, become confident in her identity, and find her major at NYU. In the spring of her junior year, she was accepted to the Public Policy International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at the University of Michigan. As a fellow, she took courses in cybersecurity, poverty & social policy, microeconomics, and statistics. At the end of the summer, Citlalli culminated all she had learned into a research project that highlighted the disparities in homeownership rates in California across age, race, education, and income. She remains a strong advocate for gap year opportunities targeted towards low-income students and dedicated her senior capstone project towards expanding research in this field. Citlalli received the award of Departmental Banner Bearer granted to one student from each department who is chosen for demonstrating spirit through leadership and academic excellence.    

As a CHCI Public Policy Fellow, Citlalli hopes to gain a greater understanding of the public policy process and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. In the future, she hopes to attend law school to continue fighting for students’ education rights and to aid underserved communities.