ALUMNI IN ACTION

Robin López Wants More Seats at the Table

By Julia Halprin Jackson

An accomplished scientist with a passion for public service, Robin López, ’18 MS Civil Engineering, is shifting the narrative about civic engagement by expanding what it means to have a seat at the community table.

Before Robin López became a research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, before he earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue a PhD in environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley, before launching a career in public service, he was a boy from Richmond fascinated by the bridges that span the San Francisco Bay. He was curious not only how they were built, but also about how their construction impacted the environment above and below the cars zooming past. Despite his interest in STEM, however, he often felt pigeonholed by his birthplace, as if his future depended on his zip code.

“People from minority communities really do care about our ecological systems,” he says. “We do care about our environment, which is often not afforded the same resources and the same level of advocacy or funding [as other communities] to put our thoughts into action.”

López and his one-year-old son recently visited SJSU. Photo: Robert C. Bain.

An advocate at heart, López has never been afraid to take action. When he lost his best friend to suicide in 2010, he resolved to “find a way to get meaning in life, while also making sure that young people don’t feel isolated.” That’s when he discovered Metas, a STEM-oriented nonprofit at Contra Costa College (CCC) that provides educational programming for preK-12th grade scholars, where he led the 4th/5th grade class.

Teaching science and mentoring kids helped López realize how much he could learn, both about science and about the positive impact of community service, especially with youths. By showing students how they could explore science in their own communities, he demonstrated that they, too, could advocate for social change.

In 2017, while in his graduate program at San José State at the same time that the federal government slashed budgets for medical and scientific research, he joined the growing movement of climate activists by helping organize the March for Science in San Francisco — an event that attracted 50,000 people. The energy, excitement and impressive turnout helped him see how social action and scientific advocacy have the potential to transform communities from the ground up.

“The experience taught me how to make science engaging — skills I’d been developing for years — while also showing me that scientific literacy is important,” he says. “Just as scientific diversity is important. It helped me see that we need people at the decision-making table who would be shaping policy while keeping scientific integrity in mind.”

“We need people at the decision-making table who would be shaping policy while keeping scientific integrity in mind.”

— Robin López

Taking a seat at the table

The proverbial “table” meant something new after López began his PhD at UC Berkeley and moved with his wife and children into graduate student housing in Albany. Worried that student families would be unrepresented in local government, and focused on providing a platform for his kids and their peers, López ran for and was elected to Albany City Council in 2022.

He was sworn into office last December, his newborn and teenager in tow. One of his first council accomplishments was establishing protocols for including youth voices on citywide commissions — creating opportunities for students living and studying in the city to participate. By involving the next generation in the policymaking process, López hopes to inspire community members of all ages to become civically engaged.

“The concept of having a seat at the decision-making table — no longer just being this person that signifies representation, but [acting as the] representation with power to make decisions that have long impacted me — that’s incredible,” he says.

Top photo: Robert C. Bain