Ileane Barrera CC’26 studied political science and public health. Raised between Queens and Long Island, her commitment to public service is rooted in the belief that no New Yorker’s tax bracket should determine access to quality education or opportunity. She has advanced this mission on campus by creating and leading the inaugural “Introduction to Law” course at the Roger Lehecka Double Discovery Center. While teaching showed her how access can transform individual trajectories, her work with the Drug Policy Alliance, the U.S. Senate, and the New York State Senate demonstrated how policy shapes access at scale. Barrera’s research with the Robin Hood Foundation and the Mailman School of Public Health further deepened this understanding through tracking poverty and neighborhood redevelopment in New York City. A CHCI Alumna, UN Millennium Fellow, and Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, she plans to pursue a J.D. to advance equitable policy for her fellow New Yorkers.