The U.S. sucks at getting people to vote

By Fusion Staff | September 22, 2016 | 1:16am

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Gabriela Espinal, from San Diego, recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz where she earned degrees in art history and visual culture, and feminist studies. For the past three years Gabriela was a part of the student broadcasting organization Rainbow TV, a group that would film and edit live productions put on by the Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center at UCSC. More recently, Gabriela has been working with Media Arts Center San Diego in their Teen Producers Project, a program that gives local youth access to video cameras and editing software so they can engage in digital storytelling as a means of self-expression, communication and social change. As a fellow, Gabriela is interested in reporting on housing insecurity, immigration reform, human rights concerns along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the school to prison pipeline. Gabriela is very excited and grateful to be working with Fusion as a Rise Up: Be Heard fellow.

Jacob Simas is the project manager and editor of the Rise Up: Be Heard journalism fellowship at Fusion.

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Kristian Castro is a San Diego native who grew up in a predominantly working class neighborhood. His family of immigrants uprooted themselves from the Philippines and planted the seeds of a new life here in the states hoping for better opportunities. One of the first in his family to graduate from college, Kristian’s experiences in student leadership at UC San Diego cultivated his passions for social justice and community development. After college he served in AmeriCorps, where he developed a volunteer program for a media nonprofit and supported workforce efforts in southeast San Diego. He currently works with the San Diego Urban League on housing and financial literacy projects and is taking urban planning classes through San Jose State University’s Open University program. As a fellow, he is eager to spotlight narratives that convey how city infrastructure, transportation access and urban design play a major role in impacting community health. Kristian is privileged to be part of the fellowship where he can help amplify the stories of the communities he grew up in.

Maria Marcelina Crystal Vega, from the Central Valley town of Los Banos, is a queer Xicanx and soon-to-be UC Davis graduate majoring in psychology and anthropology with a minor in religious studies. At Davis, they have written for the school newspaper, the Aggie, and have been very involved with their college radio station as a volunteer, DJ, and news reporter. They are a passionate advocate for education and community empowerment. They currently work as a recreation leader for an after school program and also as a peer educator for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. They are interested in reporting on social justice topics involving underrepresented groups such as the LGBT+ community, reproductive justice and youth.