Nayari Vasquez-Rodriguez joined CNC Education Fund as an intern in the summer of 2023. She became connected with the organization through the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP) as a Comcast Fellow for the 2023 cohort. During her time as a fellow, she engaged with leaders in public policy and learned more about the issues affecting the people of the global majority or people of color.

Noting that more than half of California’s college students are food insecure, Nayari was part of the initial team that launched the Aggie Eats food truck, the first pay-what-you-can food truck at the University of California, Davis. As a result of her drive to uplift her underserved neighbors, she has been critical in ensuring more than 400 students obtain healthy and delicious meals every day. In addition, she supports the Native Academic Student Success Center on campus, providing Native students with community and critical resources to succeed in college and life.

Nayari is of Mexican and Native Cora Indian descent from Nayarit, Mexico. She grew up in the coastal city of Long Beach with her parents and three older siblings, where her passion to preserve and systemically improve the state is rooted.

Nayari is in her junior year at UC Davis, studying Sociology with a minor in Chicano studies. Every summer, she volunteers with CLYLP, where she helps organize a leadership conference for Latino high school students that encourages and prepares them to become leaders in their communities. She loves spending time with her loved ones in her free time, often including an annual cousin trip, parties with her large extended family, and attending concerts with her friends.