Yanira G. Rivas Pineda is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she is finishing her dissertation titled, “Crime-Ridden and Heavily Policed: Political Involvement in two Los Angeles Public Housing Facilities.” Her research along with her activism seeks to contribute to a better understanding of political participation in marginalized communities, the role of crime and the criminal justice system in explaining this political phenomenon and working to actively address the issue. Yanira is the recipient of numerous research awards, including the UCSB Chicano Studies Institute Research Grant, UCSB Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, UCSB department of political Science Graduate Research and Training Grant, and the APSA Fund for Latino Scholarship Grant. She has been a Graduate Division Dissertation Fellow, Graduate Opportunity Fellow, SAGE Fellow, and Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellow. Yanira has over eight years of non-profit work experience and has conducted research in Los Angeles and El Salvador. The First Generation Travel Reimbursement Grant allowed Yanira to present a chapter of her dissertation at the 2019 APSA Annual Meeting and she thanks the award committee for the opportunity.”
About the APSA First Generation Scholar in the Profession Travel Reimbursement Grant
In 2015, the APSA Executive Council approved a new standing Committee on First Generation Higher Education Scholars in the Profession, parallel to the existing APSA status committees. The goal is to bring focused attention to the ways in which class, economic inequality, and mobility can affect political scientists’ ability to thrive educationally and professionally, perhaps throughout their careers. The APSA Committee on the Status of First Generation Scholars matched contributions that were made to the APSA Annual Fund during one week in September 2019 to support the professional development support of first gen scholars in the profession. Learn more.