Sonoma State Alum Manny Rodriguez Featured In 'Diverse: Issues In Higher Education'

Press release from Sonoma State University:

Sept. 12, 2024

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Sonoma State University alumnus Manny Rodriguez was featured in a Diverse: Issues in Higher Education story, "Advocating Policy, Better than Before," posted Sept. 10 on the publication’s website.

Rodriguez is the director of policy and advocacy in California at The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), an independent nonprofit research and policy organization with offices in Oakland and Washington, D.C. He was formerly at EdTrust-West, the California section of the national educational equity advocacy group.

EdTrust-West’s senior director of policy and government relations, Brian Rivas, is quoted praising Rodriguez as “a leader in higher education policy advocacy,” and “a great asset in California.”

In the article, Rodriguez — who graduated from Sonoma State with a bachelor's degree in criminology and criminal justice studies in 2012 and a master's degree in public administration in 2015 — credits his time at SSU with influencing his passion for the work he does now.

"At Sonoma State, I witnessed firsthand how targeted support can influence the educational trajectory of low-income, first-generation, or BIPOC students," Rodriguez wrote. "While a lot of this is done on an individual level by the faculty and staff, policies and procedures can intentionally be set in place to ensure that housing services, student services, campus involvement, and academic programming are catered to historically underserved students."

Read the full story.

This press release was produced by Sonoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.