B-Rod is a queer, undocumented, Salvadoran immigrant currently residing in San Francisco, CA. They immigrated to the United States with their family at the age of 6 and grew up in various neighborhoods of Los Angeles. From a very young age, B-Rod was politically conscious given the nature of their environment; their parents are both survivors of El Salvador’s civil war and discussions about U.S. imperialism and capitalistic oppression were held often and openly.

B-Rod became engaged directly with immigrant rights organizing in 2013 as a WiseUp! High School Summer Intern for CHIRLA, a nonprofit coalition of self-advocating immigrant communities. Since then, B-Rod has continued to organize, advocate, and educate on issues related and relevant to immigrants and their wellbeing. In doing so, B-Rod has taken on various leadership roles, including acting as a steering committee member of the CA Dream Network. There they helped plan and host several statewide conferences for undocumented college student organizers and lobby for various statewide policy initiatives, including AB 2000 which expanded the definition of AB 540 to be more inclusive of undocumented students with non-traditional educational paths.  B-Rod is a first-generation graduate from the University of California, Berkeley who earned their B.A. in Political Science in May 2020.

As a DreamSF Fellow, B-Rod is collaborating with the work of the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, helping to coordinate efforts amongst the partners in the San Francisco Pathways Citizenship Initiative as well as providing administrative assistance to various other projects. Outside of DreamSF, B-Rod works as a community outreach leader with San Francisco Transit Riders, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on making public transit more accessible, reliable, efficient, and equitable. B-Rod is also an experienced flute player of 16 years, a talent learned throughout childhood as a student of The Harmony Project. As a flautist, B-Rod has participated in many professional music programs, including the LA Jazz Society’s Bill Green Mentorship Program and the California State Summer School for the Arts.