Our Team
Dr. Michael Chávez
Co-Executive Director
Dr. Chávez is a professor of sociology at Riverside City College and received his PhD from UC Riverside in 2012. He founded the IELI in 2020.
Dr. Hillary Jenks
Co-Executive Director
Dr. Jenks came to the IELI in 2023 after working at UC Riverside and serving as the inaugural director of the Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties. She received her PhD in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California in 2008.
Esmeralda Vazquez
CERF Program Manager
Previously a Senior District Representative with Assemblymember Eloise Reyes, Esmeralda Vazquez is a lifelong resident of the Inland Empire. She received her MA from Georgetown in Policy Management last year.