Karla Martinez is an undergraduate senior at the University of California, Riverside studying Public Policy with a concentration on Social, Family, Cultural Policy and Policy Institutions and Processes.
Karla was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and has been living in the City of Riverside throughout the course of her undergraduate career. She is currently a Fellow with the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) Fellowship Program and will be working with the Southwest EDC as her host agency for the next few months.
The focus of her undergraduate courses has been on multiple policy topics relating to the history and issues of the region of the Inland Empire and a particular course that sparked her interest was one relating to Economic Development Policy. Her previous experience as an intern for the Riverside City Council exposed her to the importance of local government and its decision-making process as it relates to economic development and hopes to one day pursue a career relating to policy research and analyzing.
Karla is looking forward to not only applying the knowledge and skills she has learned in school towards this experience working with the Southwest EDC, but also learning about the work performed by the organization and the way economic development is conducted in the Southwest region of Riverside County.
