María Dolores Castillo has experience in public policy work at the university, local, and state level.  She developed this experience through her involvement in her student government, at the University of California Santa Cruz, working with the SUA Office of the President as the Director of Policy. Castillo worked to amplify student voices and increase resource accessibility.

She is currently serving as a policy intern for the Santa Cruz County Business Council where she takes part in voicing students’ and minorities’ concerns throughout various projects. Castillo is a former CA FWD intern. During this time, she participated in various conversations aimed at creating more equitable and inclusive policies for all Californians.

Castillo is passionate about poverty reductions strategies, crime and criminal justice reform, and child protection services. “I had been influenced to believe that success was defined through the amount of money someone is able to make, but what matters most are the individual people and the difference you make in their lives,” she says. YLAC has provided a space where she has been able to work with other folks who are just as passionate about making a difference in many individuals’ lives, as well as a way for her to gain more confidence in presenting in other spaces. “I want everyone to know that together we can make a more equitable, just, and inclusive environment everywhere we go because we deserve nothing less,” says Castillo.