Victor Flores, Laney College ‘20, is an East Bay political strategist, housing, climate policy and criminal justice reform advocate.

Born and raised in Oakland, Victor was arrested at the age of 17, resulting in an eight-year prison sentence. During his incarceration, he took on multiple leadership roles, including the High Desert’s Men’s Advisory Council as an official liaison between the prisoners and corrections officers. After completing his GED, Victor worked as a tutor within one of his housing units, and enrolled in community college courses.

Since Victor’s release, he’s completed a legal internship at Catholic Charities of the East Bay, where he took statements and wrote declarations from youth who came to the US as unaccompanied minors, many of whom were children fleeing from violence in their home countries. Victor connected with these youth who have experienced trauma from violence during their developing years, as he did growing up in East Oakland.

Over the last three years, Victor has worked for two Oakland City council members and worked on multiple local campaigns. In addition to his work in public service, Victor has also served on various boards such as the Alameda County Community Corrections Partnership Community Advisory Board, Fruitvale Latino Task Force, Resilient Fruitvale Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce, Latino Young Democrats of the East Bay, and East Bay Young Democrats.

Most recently, Victor was a Climate Equity Summer Associate at The Greenlining Institute, where he researched policies around clean mobility and racial equity, and published an article, “Plan Today, Save Tomorrow: Climate-Resilient Transportation Infrastructure.” 

Currently, Victor is a Junior at UC Berkeley student, working on obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Chicana/Chicano Studies.