Born in what is now La Ciudad de México, México, Brayan was brought to the United States at the age of 6 in hopes of obtaining a better life and an adequate education. He is a first-generation college student pursuing a Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science, specializing in American Politics with a Minor in Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Growing up in Santa Ana, CA, Brayan was exposed to various complexities that haunt his underfunded and under-represented community. These complexities were compounded by his intersectional identity as a first-generation, undocumented, low-income student of color would make navigating the world anything but easy.

At a young age, Brayan saw a need for leadership within his community, which sparked a desire to volunteer with hopes of bringing prosperity to his hometown. He began by becoming an ambassador for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), where he used his voice to advocate for better school resources. As he saw the fruits of his labor, it only felt right to get more involved with helping young people like himself. He then became Student President of a statewide organization called Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project, where he worked to empower the next generation of Latino youth.

His involvement did not stop there, deciding he would establish a “Big Brother” style mentoring program for underrepresented minorities. One of Brayan’s goals is to attend law school in hopes of becoming an immigration attorney. This goal stemmed from experiencing first-hand the various challenges that he faced while navigating the world as an undocumented individual.

As a DreamSF Fellow, Brayan will continue his professional development at the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA). At OCEIA, Brayan will focus on the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative. This initiative provides the opportunity for citizenship and civic participation within San Francisco’s naturalization-eligible immigrants.

In his free time, you can catch Brayan at the golf course on a journey to break 90. He also likes to go on spontaneous adventures with friends, listen to music, and most importantly, spend quality time with family.