Francis Guzman

Guzman will challenge the practice of prosecuting and incarcerating children in California's adult criminal justice system and advocate for alternative sentencing and local treatment for youth charged with serious offenses.

When he was 15 years-old, Guzman was arrested and tried for armed robbery and sentenced to 15 years in the California Youth Authority. After serving six years of his sentence, he was released on parole, enrolled in Oxnard College and later transferred to UC Berkeley, where he earned a BA in English. Guzman is now a JD candidate at UCLA School of Law, where he served as President of La Raza Law Students Association and Pacific Regional Director of the National Latino Law Students Association. He has worked at the Prison Law Office, Public Counsel Law Center, National Center for Youth Law, and the Greenlining Institute. Guzman is the recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice.