Michael Treviño, Executive Director of UC Berkeley Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association (UCB CLAA) has officially announced his retirement. Earlier this spring, Michael informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire at the end of the UC Berkeley academic year, and has been working with our Leadership Succession Team to complete the transition effective June 15, 2021. “CLAA extends deep gratitude to Michael for his time, commitment and service to our organization. His strong passion for helping underserved Latinx Cal students and alums has been quite evident, and he will truly be missed” said UCB CLAA Board President, Rene Licon.

​“It has been gratifying to serve as Executive Director and work with colleagues to raise the visibility and impact of UCB CLAA for our alumni and students (alumni to be), especially during the launch of the HSI Initiative and the challenging times of the pandemic. I look forward to continuing to support CLAA as a volunteer and donor ” said Michael.
Michael became UCB CLAA’s Executive Director in February 2019. Under his tenure, the association has made significant strides in: 

• Engaging students, alumni, and community partners in professional development and networking events, such as the CLAA Speaker Series, Professional Development Series, Conexiones Latinx Mentorship Program in collaboration with the ASUC, Sharing Wisdom Across Generations (SWAG) in collaboration with the Chicanx Latinx Student Development (CLSD) Office, and yield events in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions;
• Establishing a partnership with the Cal Career Center to facilitate the Diversity Career Fair and Forum to promote student professional development and advancing their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan;
• Exploring new avenues for community relations and engagement, such as our UCB CLAA night with John Leguizamo and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, partnering with local business to support the Chicanx/Latinx graduation, and participation in Giving Tuesday;
• Launching the Student Emergency Aid Campaign to support students during the pandemic; and
• Growing the scholarship program for incoming and current Chicanx/Latinx Cal students, in collaboration with Joe Kapp and his family as the Kapp Scholars Program, fundraising for scholarships and student and programmatic needs.  

He has raised tens of thousands of dollars for UCB CLAA, and led by example personally in donating several thousand dollars to campaigns assisting students.
Michael served on the CLAA Board of Directors for one year prior to becoming the CLAA Executive Director, and will remain involved with CLAA through his service on the Legacy 2022 Committee, UC CLAA Statewide, and the East Bay Chapter of UCB CLAA.  He will also continue his commitment to the advancement of the Chicanx/Latinx community at UC Berkeley through his service on the Chancellor’s Chicanx/Latinx Standing Committee. 
Thank you, Michael, for your dedication and leadership to CLAA!
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If you have questions or would like to learn more about CLAA, please contact [email protected].

​PLAINVIEW – Jesus Madrigal stared at a field of grapes across the street from his house in this dusty Central Valley town, as a chemical odor drifted toward him.

“They’re too close,” he said of the grapevines.

Madrigal said there were no grapes in Plainview when he moved here from Mexico two decades ago to settle in the unincorporated town of 1,000 in Tulare County. But now the grapes have moved in next door, along with the pesticides that farmers spray to kill pests that could damage the fruit.

Tulare County’s fields, nestled close to heavily Latino cities and towns, are now at the center of a battle over the future of the pesticide chlorpyrifos (pronounced clor-PEER-if-oss). The chemical can induce tremors and dizziness in adults and developmental delays in children who were exposed while in their mothers’ wombs, according to multiple scientific studies.

​BERKELEY, CA – August 22, 2017 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – BeVisible, the career social network for Latinx, has partnered with the UC Berkeley Chicano Latino Alumni Association (CLAA) to build a Latinx network for UC Berkeley alumni and current students. BeVisible already has more than 100 members on its site who are affiliated with the world’s top public university. The partnership seeks to:

— Connect UC Berkeley’s Latinx student body and alumni with each other; and
— Collaborate on job placements and events to better integrate Latinx into the innovation economy.

​BERKELEY — The exhibit “MONTARlaBestia” (“Riding the Beast”) will open July 11 at UC Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies, 2334 Bowditch St.

La Bestia is the popular name for the freight train that as many as a half-million Central American migrants a year ride during a perilous journey through Mexico to the United States border. The exhibit, organized by the Colectivo de Artistas contra la Discriminación (Artists Collective against Discrimination) explores that experience through art and poetry, the center says in an announcement.

​UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare has won a five-year $3.4 million grant to fund recruitment, scholarship and research efforts in the school’s new Latino Center of Excellence.

Awarded by the federal Health Resources & Services Administration, the grant will support efforts to boost Latino youth interest in behavioral and mental health and encourage them to pursue undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in social welfare.