Who We Are

Leticia Saucedo

Co-Director and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Leticia Saucedo is an expert in employment, labor, and immigration law and she teaches immigration law, employment law, labor law and torts at UC Davis.

Robyn Magalit Rodriguez

Co-Director and Asian American Studies Professor Emerita
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Robyn Magalit Rodriguez is the founding faculty director of the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies, the first of its kind in the University of California system focused on the Filipinx experience in the United States. Her writing has focused significantly on the Philippine labor diaspora.

Marcos Lopez

Director of Research
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Marcos Lopez is the Director of Research at the UC Davis Labor and Community Center. At the Labor Center, he is responsible for building partnerships with unions and labor adjacent organizations, leading its community-engaged and policy-informed research portfolio, and guiding the dissemination of actionable research reports and briefs. Lopez holds subject-matter expertise on low-wage workers, food systems, migrant justice, community-engaged research, and policy analysis. 

He holds a PhD in Sociology (with a designated emphasis in Latin American and Latino Studies) from UC Santa Cruz. Before joining UC Davis, he held faculty positions at Bowdoin College and Middlebury College, as well as a visiting appointment at UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. 

Tuyen Tran

Director of Education and Curriculum
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Tuyen Tran received her Ph.D. in History from UC Berkeley. Since 2008, Tuyen has spent her career designing and implementing professional learning opportunities for K-12 history and social science educators. She has over 17 years of experience managing state and federal education grants and contracts at UC Davis. 

Soni Chaturvedi

Legal Fellow
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Soni received her J.D. from UC Davis, King Hall and is focused on labor and immigration law

Karla Rodriguez Beltran

Community and Policy Outreach Manager
E-mail: karla[email protected] 
Bio: Karla Rodriguez Beltran received her Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Davis. Her work focuses on supporting and uplifting immigrant communities having worked at the UC Davis Undocumented Student Center, UC Davis Chicano Studies and various non-profits.

Jason A. Whisler  

Senior Research Specialist
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Jason comes from a union household and has researched and worked with the labor movement for the past 20 years.  He attended the University of Northern Iowa and received a B.A. in Secondary Education and an M.A. in History. His thesis examines the history of meatpacking labor in Iowa, an industry where his father worked.  Jason continued his graduate studies in History at the University of Iowa. As a PhD Candidate, he taught undergraduate courses on U.S. Labor History and carried out dissertation research on working-class conservativism in Iowa in the 20^th century. In addition, Jason was an active member, officer, and eventually the President of COGS-UE Local 896, representing roughly 3,000 graduate employees at the University.

Jason took a full-time position as a Field Organizer with the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) in 2014 where he worked on external organizing campaigns that resulted in several new locals and hundreds of new members and internal organizing, signing up hundreds more in tough right-to-work environments. Along with organizing, Jason also represented 14 different locals, in nearly as many different industries, across five Midwestern states. His role included handling all contract campaigns and negotiations (numbering nearly a dozen, covering over 4,000 workers), member recruitment, education, and training, as well as grievance and arbitration handling.   

In 2024, Jason joined the UCDLCC as a Senior Research Specialist where he conducts all forms of research and education, particularly that which directly engages workers and their unions to empower them in their fight for workplace and social justice. 

Samantha Xiong

Program Coordinator 
E-mail: [email protected]
Bio: Samantha Xiong grew up in the Central Valley, and is passionate about embracing diversity and culture. She has a wealth of understanding and experience giving back to the community. She enjoys spending time with her family, going on camping trips, cooking, and is an avid reader.