The Department of Ethnic Studies UC Berkeley

Bio & Research Interests

Born and raised in the Bay Areas, Ms. Gallegos-Diaz identifies as a Chicana rooted in community work with particular focus on nonprofits. Throughout her 30 year career in higher education as both an academic and administrator, Ms. Gallegos-Diaz has been committed to addressing educational and economic inequities while advocating for social justice needs in and across the Chicanx/Latinx communities and communities of color in higher education. Mrs. Gallegos-Diaz holds a Bachelors of Science in Sociology from Santa Clara University; a Masters in Social Work from University of California, Berkeley; and a Ph.D. certificate of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from the Ethnic Studies program; and a Certificate of Fundraising from the University of San Francisco Nonprofit Management. Ms. Gallegos-Diaz teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Ethnic Studies/Chicano Latino Studies and in the School of Social Work at the University of California, Berkeley (UBC) and San Francisco State University in the department of Latina/Laitno studies . Her teaching expertise ranges from student and leadership development; health and mental wellness; community engagement/service, Latinos in the environment; nonprofits, fundraising and philanthropy. She has served in various leadership and advisory roles for a number of international, national and local organizations such as , National advisor of the Mexican government in Higher Education;Consejera Consultiva del Institute de los Mexicanos en Exterior (CCIME); Chair of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies; and the Administrative Coordinator for national Mujeres Activas en Letras Y Cambio Social (MALCS) a Chicana, Latina and Indigenous national organization that supports women of color in higher education. Currently, Ms. Gallegos-Diaz sits as a redistricting commissioner for the City of Berkeley and Chair of the Chicana Latina Foundation, a northern California nonprofit that raises funds for scholarships. She is also co-founder of the Latinx and the Environment initiative at UC Berkeley and board treasurer for the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. She currently works at the University of California, Berkeley as the Director of the Chicanx Latinx Student Development Center.