Raymond Banks

Raymond Banks, born in West Philadelphia, is a justice-evolved Navy veteran who earned an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. He piloted the first cross-enrollment program with dedicated academic support for veteran and justice impacted community college students in spring 2015 which is designed to “Demystify Cal by Experiencing Cal.”  As a member of Berkeley Underground Scholars, he is currently pursuing a Master’s of Arts degree at Berkeley School of Education

Brian Chu

Bay Area born and raised, Brian is an Underground Scholar at UC Berkeley doing prerequisite classes for his graduate work. He studied sociology with an emphasis in law & society, and computer science at UC Davis. He is a member of several re-entry and anti recidivism organizations. He hopes to eventually work in developing assistive technology for neurodivergent learners. 

Conan Minihan

Originally from San Diego, CA, Conan is an Underground Scholar working on his PhD in Data Science at UC San Diego. He researches the use of online learning and reinforcement learning on continuous biometric data from medical devices to help individuals with chronic and disabling illnesses manage their symptoms. Prior to this, he received a bachelor's degree in Data Science from UC Berkeley.

Dr. David Maldonado 

Dr. David Maldonado Is a founding member of Underground Scholars and  a Berkeley native. His dissertation Underground Work looks at the possibilities and limitations of doing abolition work in the university. Using Marx’s value form theory, Work troubles “education” as a project of subjectivity formation toward dominant ends. By looking at time and labor as carceral technologies, it argues that freedom can be achieved by delinking our attachments to possessive individualism and fighting against the life shortening forces of capital. That said, he is a West Berkeley cat committed to love, creativity, and collectivity as serious interruptions and antagonisms to racial capitalism (and thus death dealing). He will be in a Berkeley sociology classroom (soon) teaching, learning, and unlearning with you and all potential comrades in the struggle toward life giving infrastructures. 

Adrian Caceres

Adrian Caceres is a first-generation, justice impacted student  senior majoring in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Originating from Los Angeles California, Adrian exemplifies a profound commitment to social change, particularly through his extensive involvement in research and community programs. He is an active member of diverse communities, such as Alpha Kappa Delta Honor Society and Berekeley Underground Scholars. Adrian’s research interests are centered on the effectiveness of cross-enrollment programs in California. His involvement in multiple research programs underscores his dedication to both scholarly excellence and community engagement by highlighting the transformative power of education and research.

Tony Mirabelli

Tony Mirabelli worked closely with Raymond as the faculty sponsor for the first cross-enrollment program with UC Berkeley in 2015, titled, “Demystify Cal by Experiencing Cal.” The program included dedicated academic support for veteran and justice impacted community college students. Raymond is an important thought partner and inspiration for many of Tony’s intellectual pursuits, and he is honored to be able to support Raymond and his colleagues with their revolutionary website. Tony holds a BA in Philosophy and English from University of Illinois, Urbana, an MA in Anglo-American literature from University College London, and a PhD in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ji Su Yoo

Ji Su is interested in understanding technology and inequality as a PhD student at the UC Berkeley. As someone who is not justice-impacted, she hopes to support justice-evolved work through research and service to the community. Her goal is to challenge forms of systemic and structural oppression through research and advocacy in whatever way is helpful. She wants to figure out what it means to be a researcher who is not extractive or exploitative, and push others to self-evaluate and reflect on inequities and inequalities.