Office of External Affairs

VP External: Arturo Chiquito

Hello, and welcome from the GPSA External Affairs team!

Our job is to advocate for the interests of UCSD graduate and professional students to numerous off-campus organizations. These include the UC Office of the President, the UC Board of Regents, the UC Graduate and Professional Council (UCGPC), the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students (NAGPS), Student Advocates for Graduate Education (SAGE), and San Diego area elected officials at all levels of government.

In addition to advocating on behalf of graduate and professional students, the External team also works to get grads involved in the advocacy process through lobby visits, voter registration, and informative (and fun) events.

If you have any interest in student advocacy, don't hesitate to send any of us an email.

Each year the External Affairs team updates the GPSA Policy Platform, which provides the policy space that the Legislative Advocacy Committee and External Affairs Officers advocate within. In addition, the External Affairs team produces one-page white papers on the specific issues we focus on each year during the Winter Quarter. Continue to this page to see the current and archived versions of the GPSA Policy Platform and white papers.

If interested in following along with the External Office’s advocacy throughout the year, be sure to follow us on Twitter @UCSDgradvocacy! 

Who We Are

Mackenna Rawlins, Vice President of External Affairs

vpexternal@gsa.ucsd.edu

Vacant, Legislative Liaison (LL) for National Affairs

us.legislative@gsa.ucsd.edu

Vacant, Legislative Liaison (LL) for State Affairs

ca.legislative@gsa.ucsd.edu

Andrew Parlier, Legislative Liaison (LL) for Local Affairs

sd.legislative@gsa.ucsd.edu

Legislative Advocacy Committee

Are you interested in becoming involved in policy?

Do you want to gain experience and training in lobbying and policy?

Do you want to meet directly with legislators on the national, state, and local levels to advocate for issues that affect you as a graduate student?

UCSD Graduate Student Association (GPSA) Legislative Advocacy Committee (formerly known as Lobby Corps) exists because GPSA believes that we need graduate students to advocate for higher education on behalf of fellow graduate students on the local, state, and national level. The issues we have focused on in the past include: research funding, stipend levels, affordable housing, campus safety, and immigration among others.

For more information or to get involved, email your VP External, Mackenna Rawlins, at vpexternal@gsa.ucsd.edu.