Diaz briefed National Press Foundation fellows in March 2021: State Unemployment Insurance Systems in Chaos.

Sonja Diaz is the Founding Executive Director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, a comprehensive think tank that addresses the most critical domestic policy challenges facing communities of color in states and localities across the U.S. Diaz served as policy counsel to U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris during her first and second terms as California Attorney General and directed voter protection programs for Democratic candidates in Virginia during the 2016 election. Diaz has also managed domestic policy portfolios at three California nonprofits, clerked in the White House’s Domestic Policy Council under President Barack Obama, and supported litigation efforts at MALDEF, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and California’s Bureau of Children’s Justice. Diaz routinely briefs state legislators and local elected officials from across the U.S. on evidence-based governance and emerging trends in domestic policy. Her research and commentary has been mentioned in major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, NBC, NPR, Politico, and Univision. Diaz received her J.D. from UC Berkeley’s School of Law, holds a M.P.P. from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a B.A. in politics from UC Santa Cruz.