vANGUARD STAFF
David Greenwald
Founder, Executive Director, Editor
David Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006 under the name the Davis Vanguard. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend graduate school at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and their three children.
Neha Suri
Court Watch Program Internship Coordinator
Neha is in her final year at the University of California, Los Angeles seeking a BA in Political Science and Economics. Originally from Sacramento, she is the Internship Coordinator at the Vanguard and is in charge of the hiring and training of interns participating in the Vanguard Court Watch Program. She is passionate about addressing injustices within the criminal legal system and plans to pursue a career in policy advocacy and immigration law.
Catherine Kavalauskas
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Catherine Kavalauskas is a third-year Political Science and English dual major at University at California Davis. Her passion in law and litigation stems from interests in legal reform, policy, and politics which she has explored throughout her education through reading, writing, and legal internships. In her freetime she enjoys reading literature, skiing, spending time with friends/family, and exploring new ways to effect positive change in the world around her. She is one of the intern supervisors at the Vanguard.
Graciela Tiu
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Graciela Tiu is an undergraduate, pre-law student at the University of California, Davis, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Communication. Her academic and professional interests include journalism, American government, gender theory, political theory, and civic engagement. As an intern supervisor, she assists new interns with writing articles, helps with setting intern schedules, the article submission process, and with weekly intern meetings.
Mia Bella Rodgers
Vanguard Incarcerated Press Production Editor
Mia is a third-year criminology student at the University of California, Irvine on the pre-law track. She began her work with the Davis Vanguard as a Court Watch Intern, later leading outreach efforts to bridge the Court Watch program with UCI, and transitioning into her role as one of the Production Managers for the Vanguard Incarcerated Press. She has previously worked as an Immigration Legal Services Volunteer/Intern, and is currently serving as a Title IX Research Assistant at UCI. Mia aims to use her career and experience with systemic harm to understand and reimagine the institutions Americans function within. She has goals of expanding rehabilitative program access within prisons, centering her career around human and animal rights, and advancing a humanized policy approach.
Maxine Kenzie Pollock
Vanguard Incarcerated Press Production Editor
Maxine is a student at UC Berkeley.
Ruby Mota
Webmaster
Ruby is a UC Berkeley Alum with a Double BA in Political Science and Legal Studies. As a website manager, she prepares and schedules the daily postings of the articles written by interns and select Vanguard staff. Ruby hopes to attend law school and pursue a career in immigration law.
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Joan Parkin
Joan Parkin is Professor Emerita at Feather River College and the author of Perspectives from the Cell House, An Anthology of Prisoner Writings and The Prisoners and The Podium. She received her bachelor’s degree with a major in English and minors in French and Philosophy from Boston University and PhD in Comparative Literature from The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Her dissertation was a comparative Marxist analysis of Richard Wright’s Native Son and Albert Camus’ L’Étranger. She is the former Director and co-founder of Feather River College’s Incarcerated Student Program and has taught college students inside the prisons for over a decade. As an organizer for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty in Chicago, Joan was a leading abolitionist who helped free five wrongfully convicted death row inmates. Today she teaches English to incarcerated students for Boston University’s Prison Education Program and continues to do anti-racist and social justice work.
Michelle Lagos
Michelle Lagos is a skilled project manager and marketing specialist based in Los Angeles. She holds an MBA from UC Irvine and a BA in English and Education from UC Davis. Currently, she is a Project Management Intern at Kaiser Permanente, managing key projects and enhancing team dynamics. Previously, she served as a Marketing Specialist Intern, developing digital strategies that reduced non-urgent ER visits. Michelle also has experience with the Society of Professional Journalists, GLAAD Media, and Davis Vanguard. She plans to leverage her expertise to drive impactful initiatives and foster growth. convicted death row inmates. Today she teaches English to incarcerated students for Boston University’s Prison Education Program and continues to do anti-racist and social justice work.
Robert “Bob” Adams
Robert “Bob” Adams is our Development Consultant. He has been a program director and private school administrator for many decades. He graduated from California State University Northridge with dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and child development and obtained a masters in school administration through Pacific Oaks Teachers College and UCLA. Bob has worked with various for-profit and non-profit schools. He has experienced the unique opportunity of opening five private schools from scratch and then taking on key leadership roles in accrediting four different types of schools: preschool, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary. Over 30 years ago, he got hooked on grants and funding because he learned how to perceive them like puzzles—enjoying the creativity of making it all come together for the many grantors and various grantees, especially when it benefitted low-income individuals or those who have been shunned or disenfranchised by society. Bob’s dedication to education has been recognized on numerous occasions. He began his journey by volunteering with the California Department of Education on the Textbook Review Commission and Black Lives Matter. His commitment to education was further acknowledged when he was chosen as a Sacramento County and Placer County Children’s Commissioner. His crowning achievement came in 2008 when he was named the California School Administrator of the Year. Bob is eager to be here and help The Peoples Vanguard of Davis get additional funding and special recognition for all that they give to their community!
Cynthia Rodriguez
For over 40 years, Cynthia Rodriguez has practiced law serving the public and the State as a litigator. She has conducted innumerable jury, court trials and administrative hearings, Cynthia began her career with five years of private practice. She then became a Public Defender in Orange County, then Solano County, then for the State Public Defender’s Office. She worked briefly for CDCR in employment law, and later at CalPERS for ten years. She was the General Counsel and Deputy Director of the Legal Services Division, Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of State Hospitals starting in July 2005, for eight years. In addition to her litigation work, in 2003 Cynthia was a adjunct professor of Appellate Advocacy at UC Davis Law School and taught American Government at DQ University in Yolo County. She also served on the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Northern California and the Cooperative Care Board for Yolo County. Cynthia retired from the state and now works self-employed, doing significant pro-bono work and lobbying for criminal justice reform. She ran for Yolo County District Attorney in 2022. She is married to her college sweetheart, has four adult children and two granddaughters. The Davis Vanguard fits well within her devotion to criminal justice issues and development.