Olivia Garcia, Ph.D.

Interim Director of Public Policy, Esperanza United

Olivia Garcia, Ph.D. serves as the public policy and training manager with Esperanza United. She brings with her a background in both advocacy, training and research that spans 10 years. Dr. Garcia completed her doctorate in Political Science from UCLA with an emphasis on Race and Ethnicity Politics, Gender Studies and Political Theory. Her research focuses on the Violence Against Women Act and the ways in which the theory of intersectionality is absent from policy, although it is a necessary consideration when on-the-ground advocates are helping foreign-born, Latina, immigrant victims of intimate partner violence. Before joining Esperanza United, Dr. Garcia worked as the Underserved Populations Director for the National Center for Victims of Crime.

Dr. Garcia is an affiliate faculty member for the University of Texas at El Paso’s Criminal Justice and Chicano Studies Departments. She occasionally teaches American Politics & Public Policy at the El Paso Community College District.