Policy Chats

In this episode, Assistant Professional Researcher Deborah Lefkowitz talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about public health policy.   About Deborah Lefkowitz: Deborah Lefkowitz received her BA summa cum laude in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University, and her PhD in Social Ecology from the University of California Irvine. Dr. Lefkowitz’s research focuses on cancer survivorship, health disparities, and health law and policy, with a focus on vulnerable cancer populations in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Prior to pursuing research, Dr. Lefkowitz was an internationally recognized visual artist and documentary filmmaker, and created a significant body of work on how individuals confront traumatic, life-altering experiences.  Learn more about Deborah Lefkowitz via https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/deborahl  Podcast Highlights:  "I think we have to say our health care system is really broken. It's very fragmented. And what that means, is that it takes a lot of work to get access to care and that work is disproportionate if you have a low income.” -       Deborah Lefkowitz on the topic of the burden inflexible work creates for obtaining necessary care.  "I actually think it's a real mistake to think that we could actually make informed choices in advance about the best health insurance for our own needs... I hear a lot less discussion about insurance companies making health care decisions. That's essentially the system that we have now, where you need prior authorization from many health care plans for many types of procedures. And it's essentially insurance adjusters who are making those health care decisions, sometimes  life and death decisions.” -       Deborah Lefkowitz on how insurance adjusters currently are making the life-altering decisions for people about which procedures are covered.  “The ACA removes the barrier to insurance of having a preexisting health condition... So if we think today about how many of the people in the US have had COVID-19, that's most people in the US, that would be considered a preexisting condition under pre ACA circumstances… So if in the future, people who have had a COVID infection developed health problems that could be linked to that infection, then they would be excluded from health insurance. And this is currently the case for millions of Americans.” -       Deborah Lefkowitz on how the Affordable Care Act still benefits a majority of Americans today in ways they may not realize. Guest: Deborah Lefkowitz (Assistant Professional Researcher)  Interviewers: Rachel Strausman (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Vice Chief Ambassador)  Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) View the video version here: https://youtu.be/M4mjoVkbJHo Music by:  C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Links: ⁠https://spp-calvols.eventbrite.com/⁠  https://spp.ucr.edu/ba-mpp https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/  Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast. 

In this episode, Director of the Presley Center of Crime and Justice Studies  Sharon Oselin talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about the California Fair Chance Act and barriers to integration following incarceration.   About Sharon Oselin: Dr. Oselin is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Sociology at the University of California, Riverside and Affiliated Faculty of the Labor Studies Program. She earned her Ph.D. from UC Irvine and is a past fellow of the American Association of University Women. Her broad research interests encompass crime, deviance, and criminal justice, gender and sexuality, organizations, and culture.   Learn more about Sharon Oselin via https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/soselinhttps://presleycenter.ucr.edu/about/people  Podcast Highlights:  “With growing public awareness and legislators' awareness about some of the harms of mass incarceration in particular... there has been significantly retooled efforts to focus on policies and laws that help reduce those inequalities but also deal with some of the consequences for those that have been justice-impacted in various ways.” -       Sharon Oselin on the topic of new efforts to promote policies that help those that have been justice-impacted.  “Individuals with records have a lot of obstacles to contend with... one of the biggest challenges is finding employment and we know that employment is often correlated with whether someone reoffends or returns to prisons” -       Sharon Oselin on the impact obtaining employment has on possible future incarcerations. “There's many factors that are important of course, such as securing housing, family relationships, social support, and so forth, but employment is a huge factor in predicting someone's success... that's why there are a lot of policies that specifically target employment opportunities.” -       Sharon Oselin on the importance of employment following incarceration.  Guest: Sharon Oselin (Director of the Presley Center of Crime and Justice Studies)  Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Catherine Mah (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)  Music by:  C Codainehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/PhaseCommercial Links: This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/  Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast. 

In this episode, Director of Operations & Strategies for Act Now for Mental Health Joy Chen talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about Mental Health Awareness and Challenges.   About Joy Chen: Joy, a UCR and School of Public Policy Alum, has extensive experience in both local and state government settings. Joy graduated from Yale with a Master's in Public Health and currently works as the Director of Operations & Strategies for the Act Now for Mental Health non-profit. Joy is also a Policy Director for Healthsperian LLC. Learn more about Joy Chen via https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-chen-mph-99678a124/ Podcast Highlights:  “Mental Health and behavioral health have been issues long before the pandemic, if anything, the pandemic just revealed and exacerbated this issue.” -       Joy Chen on the topic of mental health policymaking. “We feel like we're so small and can't address anything that happens in the world, but what we do have control over is volunteering in our communities.” -       Joy Chen on the importance of community investment. “One of the big reasons anxiety and depression have been destigmatized has been because of social media. It has made others feel less alone...I think hearing other people talk about what they are going through is so helpful in helping us process our emotions and understand that it isn't just us." -      Joy Chen on the topic of social media's role in awareness. Guest: Joy Chen (Director of Operations & Strategies) Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Giovanna Arena (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)  This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast. 

In this episode, Attorney Thy Bui talks with a student from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about the challenges, intricacies, and tips on the legal profession. About Thy Bui:  Thy represents employers in single-plaintiff and multi-plaintiff lawsuits in state and federal court.  She regularly defends employers in lawsuits alleging causes of action for discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage and hour violations, and other statutory and common-law claims arising from the employment relationship.  In addition to her litigation practice, Thy also performs workplace investigations and provides day-to-day counseling advice to employers. Learn more about Thy Bui via https://www.constangy.com/people-Thy-Bui Podcast Highlights: “At some point, it becomes a sales job...the people that pay you are the clients... [and people] don't ask themselves am I good at sales, how are my soft skills, do people relate to me, can I convince somebody that I'm fun to work with? These are not things that people think about.” -       Thy Bui on the importance of soft skills and building connections.  “While there may be more information or people to consult, in the end, you have to make that decision and you have to be okay with no matter what the consequences are because you can't control the future." -      Thy Bui on the topic of decisiveness in the legal profession.  “Make it fun. A lifetime of work is a long time! If you're just in it for the money and you're not having fun you're going to burn out fast, especially for a profession as demanding as the legal profession.” -       Thy Bui's advice for anyone interested in pursuing a legal profession.  Guest: Thy Bui (Attorney) Interviewer: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Link: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Water Consulting Expert Les Chau talk with a student from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about California's Water Challenges. About Les Chau: Mr. Chau specializes in One Water consulting, climate adaptation planning, water resource studies, water quality compliance, and water infrastructure asset management. His experience includes watershed analysis with a focus on overall environmental impacts and climate change effects on water supplies and infrastructure. Learn more about Les Chau via https://www.linkedin.com/in/leschau/ Podcast Highlights: “We need to really have a futurist strategy on how to grow the California economy...That I think requires us repurposing some of our existing commerce which is agriculture.” -      Les Chau on the concept of repurposing agricultural land.  “Be a champion of your own community, be a champion of safe drinking water, be a champion to represent underrepresented communities.” -       Les Chau on the role everyone can play in addressing the water crisis. “It's not engineering and science in the forefront; it's really our political will.” -       Les Chau on the role politics plays in water policy.  Guest: Les Chau (Water Consulting Expert) Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Link: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Non-Profit Worker and School of Public Policy Alum Andrea Rayas talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about Community Work with Second-Hand Smoke in Multifamily Housing Units.  Podcast Highlights:  “Research has shown that African American and Latinx communities are most affected by it, especially children.”  -Andrea on the topic of second-hand smoke and the communities most impacted by it.  “We work with a  community who are constantly working, who are not politically involved at all...we think it's important to also provide training or capacity building for them...encouraging them to make public comments, empowering them to attend meetings...”  -Andrea on the challenges of working with community members and how to empower them.  “The way they can get involved is by addressing it to their other peers, neighbors, landlords, property management, attending meetings [and expressing their concerns]”  -Andrea on the topic of student involvement in addressing second-hand smoke. Guest:  Andrea Rayas (Non-Profit Worker)  Interviewers:  Dinara Godage (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)  Andrew Shannon (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador)  Music by: C Codaine  https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase  Commercial Link: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp  This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Dean of the University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy Mark Long talks with a student about Affirmative Action Policies in College Admissions. About Mark Long: Mark C. Long began his role as Dean of the School of Public Policy at UC Riverside in January 2023, following the successful tenure of Anil Deolalikar, who served as founding Dean of SPP. From 2004-2022, Long was a Professor of Public Policy and Governance and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Washington. He served as the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance's Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (2018-19) and Associate Dean for Research (2016-18). Long served on the faculty of George Washington University as an assistant professor of economics and public policy and administration from 2002-04. Learn more about Mark Long via https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/marklong Podcast Highlights: “If your goal is representation by race, but you use other indicators like income or wealth, you need to put as much as four times as much weight on those other factors than you would if you just put weight directly on race. From an efficiency perspective, if what you're interested in is generating racial representation, it's inefficient to put weight on socioeconomic status.” -      Mark Long on the topic of different indicators for racial representation in college admissions.  “Yes, you can predict race, but you can't predict race, particularly with the date that universities have on hand.” -      Mark Long on the topic of using measures to predict race to increase racial representation on college campuses.  “Those gaps are present as of kindergarten, so clearly, things are going on in the homes and communities of these students before they even hit high school.” -       Mark Long on the challenges minority students face from an early age.  Guest: Mark Long (Dean of the School of Public Policy) Interviewer: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Link: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp Register for the event here: estolano-jan24.eventbrite.com Click here to learn more about Dean Long's research on this issue. This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Founding Dean of the University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy, Anil Deolalikar talks with students about the most pressing challenges the world faces today. About Anil Deolalikar: Anil Deolalikar has been the founding dean of the School of Public Policy since February 2013 and a professor of economics at UC Riverside since 2003. Deolalikar is a development economist who has published four books and 75 articles on the economics of child nutrition, health, education, poverty, and social protection in developing countries. In addition to his research, Deolalikar has extensive public policy experience. Learn more about Anil Deolalikar via https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/anild Podcast Highlights: “In some ways, you can almost think about California as a giant experiment to show what can be done by policy to control emissions.” -       Anil Deolalikar on the topic of climate change and California's efforts to address it.  “If you look at the average pay of a CEO in a company relative to the average production worker...that ratio used to be the average CEO was paid 25 times more...today it is 300 times. That tells you how unequal things have become.” -       Anil Deolalikar on the rise of inequality. “It may mark the end of this four-decade period of globalization... We could have two sets of supranational organizations in the world-one allied with the Chinese and one allied with the United States.” -       Anil Deolalikar on the economic conflict between China and the United States.  Guest: Anil Deolalikar (Founding Dean, UCR School of Public Policy) Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Catherine Mah (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Zeno Marganian (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Dinara Godage (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Andrew Shannon (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Links: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Water Law Partner Wesley Miliband talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about the policy issues and potential solutions to California's water challenges. About Wesley Miliband: "Wesley Miliband is an environmental lawyer focused on water resources. He focuses on securing and protecting water rights and water supplies, including assistance with water transfers as well as the infrastructure necessary to treat, store and deliver water. His practice lends itself to related environmental issues involving water quality impacts to surface water and groundwater supplies, fisheries and riparian habitats, regulatory permitting, and environmental compliance with federal and state requirements, including the California Environmental Quality Act." Learn more about Wesley Miliband via https://www.aalrr.com/attorneys-Wesley_A_Miliband#Overview Podcast Highlights: “What that means is California's driest six years, over an approximately 128 years that we as a state have been recording precipitation, just happened in the last ten years alone.” -       Wesley Miliband on the dire situation regarding California's droughts and water supply. “I would say that our population growth is a massive contributor... We are a growth-intense state, and the existing infrastructure, on top of that, has aged. So I think those are two huge contributors to why existing logistical challenges become even more challenging” -       Wesley Miliband on the topic of logistical challenges California faces. “I think a part of it is trust-building-in my mind, it will never go away however much we can advance technology...trust is still a fundamental necessity to getting things done.” -       Wesley Miliband on the topic of infrastructure and implementing new projects and ideas. Guest: Wesley Miliband (Water Law Partner) Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Catherine Mah (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Links: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.

In this episode, Former District Attorney of San Bernardino County Michael Ramos talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy about the Supreme Court going into the upcoming elections. About Michael Ramos: Michael A. Ramos was elected as San Bernardino County’s District Attorney in 2003 and served in the position until 2019. He currently serves as one of the External Relations Directors for the Robert Presley Center of Crime and Justice Studies at the UCR School of Public Policy. Learn more about Michael Ramos via https://presleycenter.ucr.edu/about/people#external_relations_directors Podcast Highlights: “It will be interesting to me to see if that same energy after the decision on Roe v. Wade comes out in the ballot box. If it does, then that tells you that the decision by the United States Supreme Court lit a fire under the public.” -       Michael Ramos on the topic of Roe v. Wade and the response by the American public. “My concern, and I think the public's concern, is judicial activism-the judges crossing the line to the political world, the legislative world.” -       Michael Ramos on the topic of justices potentially crossing the line and involving politics in their decisions.  “You may think your vote doesn't count, but it does. Every vote from a local school board race to the United States president is key to our society continuing to be what we are in the world.” -       Michael Ramos on the importance of voting.  Guest: Michael Ramos (External Relations Director for the Center of Crime and Justice Studies) Interviewers: Kevin Karami (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Jeanine Nassar (Associate Students of UCR Vice President of Internal Affairs) Music by: C Codaine https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Minimal_1625 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase Commercial Links: https://spp.ucr.edu/mpp This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.