Erin Lopez

Biography

Erin Lopez is a first-year MPP student interested in economic inequity, resource allocation, and poverty alleviation in the Greater Los Angeles region. A native of the San Gabriel Valley, Erin’s interest in public policy came from the observation of vast socio-economic disparities and opportunities for working-class and immigrant communities in the area. She co-founded Change West Covina, a youth-led progressive organization focused on uplifting the voices of local residents and providing digestible and accessible information and solutions to local issues. 

Erin received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Public Policy from UC Berkeley in 2022. At Berkeley, she worked as a research assistant at The People Lab and the Goldman School for Public Policy, where she explored long-term budget shortfalls, pensions obligations, and the consequences of lack of financial transparency between residents and their local officials. 

Most recently, Erin worked as Data Analyst at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), where she led research initiatives regarding migration trends across the United States and Mexico. Additionally, she worked on various emergency response initiatives as a member of the L.A. Welcomes Collective and the LA Rapid Response Network, providing critical live-time data to partners during times of crises. 

These experiences led Erin to pursue a MPP at USC Price to better understand how policy can be crafted and implemented in a way that is inclusive of all residents, regardless of immigration or socio-economic status. In the future, she would like to work in city management across Los Angeles County and work to make cities equitable and crisis-ready.