ABA Diversity and Inclusion Center Honors Professor Aldana as 'Trailblazer'

The American Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion Center honored Professor Raquel Aldana among prominent activists and legal trailblazers as part of its observance of Hispanic/Latino/a/x Heritage Month.

Other honorees include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

The ABA describes Aldana’s status as a trailblazer this way:

“Aldana is an immigrant from Central America, a first-generation college and law school graduate who entered the profession to further the rights of immigrants, undocumented students, women and Latina lawyers. She uses her voice to fight for diversity in the field of law for both Latino students and women lawyers.”

Raquel E. Aldana joined UC Davis in 2017 to serve as the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity with a law faculty appointment. She returned to full-time law teaching in 2020. Aldana’s research has focused on transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and sustainable development in Latin America, as well as immigrant rights. Before UC Davis, Aldana was a professor of law at McGeorge School of Law, and the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She served as associate dean for faculty scholarship at McGeorge from 2013-17. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and Harvard Law School.