RJ Ronquillo
Position: Research Assistant
RJ (he/him) is an undocumented immigrant from Kalookan, Philippines. He is the product of the love and support his family, friends, and community have given him. His work and interests revolve around the intersection of immigrant rights, health access, and data justice, specifically focusing on how data can further invisibilize marginalized communities.
His and his family’s experiences as undocumented and uninsured migrants have shaped his advocacy and organizing practices. RJ was an organizer for UPLIFT, an API undocumented youth organization, where he worked to uplift undocumented API voices in various statewide and national organizing spaces such as the Health4All Coalition, ICE Out of LA Coalition, and AAPI Organizing Table. He was also a Community Advisory Board member for the Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy (RIGHTS) study, and a former researcher for the Building Community, Raising All Immigrant Voices for Health Equity (BRAVE) study, where he worked with academics and community members to develop a sampling method that will be used to survey a diverse population of Asian immigrant women.
RJ currently resides in California with his family. In his spare time, he can be found in the kitchen cooking his favorite dishes, in the garden taking care of his plantitas, or on the sofa being a couch potato.
