Evelyn Lucho joins the Michelson 20MM Foundation as the Senior Program Coordinator for Student Basic Needs, bringing with her an impressive background in social work and community empowerment. Evelyn will support developing and expanding the initiative with a focus on pregnant and parenting students, emergency student aid, and student housing insecurity.
Raised in the Inland Empire, Evelyn was the first in her family to attend a four-year university away from home. She experienced several systemic barriers many low-income, first-generation students face when navigating higher education. Due to the passion and care of various student leaders and community members, Evelyn witnessed the importance of uplifting and advocating for one another.
Before joining Michelson 20MM, Evelyn was a Family Engagement Coordinator for California State University, Fullerton’s GEAR UP program. In this role, she used a multi-generational approach to support the well-being of students and their parents, empowering them to make informed decisions about education through collaborative efforts aimed at fostering lasting generational change.
Evelyn arrived at this work after a few years of serving as a mental health clinician, first supporting survivors of intimate partner violence and then counseling youth in Orange County. As a mental health professional, she observed the need to support youth through a whole-child, asset-based approach and sought to create stronger support systems for youth. Prior to that, Evelyn also worked at Chico State’s Dream Resource Center in its first year of full operations, where she helped undocumented students navigate higher education.
Evelyn is a proud alumna of the CSU system, having received a Bachelor’s in Social Work from CSU Chico, with an emphasis on ethics, justice, and policy. She also earned her Master’s in Social Work at Cal State Los Angeles, where her thesis focused on the rates of activist burnout among queer and trans communities of color. As a first-generation college graduate, Evelyn is passionate about community care, dedicated to strengthening familial support systems, and committed to higher education equity.
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
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