Russell Lee

Position: Staff Member CA Assemblymember Phil Ting
Hometown: South San Francisco, CA

My name is Russell, and I’m a wilderness explorer- just joking. I’m Russell and currently I’m a rising third year student at UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science. I applied for this fellowship since the city council member I work with recommended it to me and it sounded like an invaluable opportunity. Growing up in South San Francisco, 10 miles south of San Francisco, I didn’t have exposure to as many progressive values as you would think for someone who grew up in the Bay Area. I could’ve never guessed public policy, something I thought was always created in favor of our founding ideals of liberty and freedom, could be intentionally biased towards a specific group or demographic. In our community, we didn’t openly acknowledge our socioeconomic or ethnic dynamics, but they were always there. I’m hoping this fellowship allows me to continue my journey for a better awareness of social dynamics that probably began around the start of the campaign season for the 2016 election.