Andy Flores
PPIA Junior Summer Institute, University of California, Berkeley, 2022
B.A., University of Mississippi
Lifting Voices, Expanding Possibility, and Building a More Just Future
Andy grew up in Mississippi in a low-income, first-generation household where college felt distant and guidance was limited. Born to Mexican and Afro-Panamanian parents, he learned early to rely on resilience, community, and an inner belief that life could look different. “There weren’t many blueprints for someone like me,” Andy says. “But I knew I wanted to make life better for kids who grew up like I did.” His early experiences gave him a deep understanding of what it means to navigate opportunity without a map.
A Movement That Changed the State
When Mississippi’s HELP Grant, one of the only financial aid programs for low-income students, was at risk of elimination, Andy refused to stand by. He founded HelpSaveHELP, a student-led movement that mobilized thousands and helped save the grant. “It was the first time I saw how young people can change something real,” he reflects. The impact of that victory led to one of the biggest honors of his life: in 2022, Andy became the first Latino in Mississippi history to receive the prestigious Truman Scholarship, a recognition of his leadership and commitment to public service.
The Door That Opened Everything
Andy’s path to the PPIA Junior Summer Institute began with a chance encounter at a conference and a recommendation letter submitted in just three days by a supportive advisor. “It reminded me how powerful educators can be when they believe in you,” he says. PPIA took him to UC Berkeley, where he found a tight-knit cohort, new perspectives, and a sense of belonging he hadn’t experienced before. “I didn’t have many advantages,” he says. “But I had people who believed in me, and programs like PPIA that opened doors. Now it’s my turn to hold the door open for others.”
Turning Purpose Into Action
He has followed through on that promise. Andy supported affirmative action litigation at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, coordinated complex policy initiatives at Vanderbilt’s Policy Accelerator, and led voter protection efforts serving over 2,000 North Carolina volunteers. Today, he works at the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations, helping build a national youth ideas festival and advising young leaders whose voices often go unheard.
Building a National Pipeline for Justice
Earlier this year, Andy co-founded the Public Interest Law Association (PILA), a fast-growing national initiative designed to strengthen the pipeline into public interest law. In a moment when public institutions are facing intense pressure, PILA supports aspiring attorneys, particularly first-generation and low-income students, by closing information gaps around financial aid, early-career pathways, and the realities of public service work.
Since its launch, PILA has welcomed hundreds of members across nearly every state, begun building more than a dozen college chapters, and convened students through high-impact webinars with institutions like Harvard Law and Howard Law. Andy leads the organization’s Partnerships work and manages a powerhouse Advisory Board of civil rights leaders, law school deans, and veteran public interest attorneys. Under his leadership, PILA has become a rare space where legal professionals across generations, geographies, institutions, and issue areas can learn from one another as they take up lawyering for the public good.
PILA is now preparing to incorporate and scale its impact, and Andy hope to commit himself to this work full-time once his tenure at the Aspen Institute concludes.
A Future Built on Access and Justice
Looking ahead, Andy plans to pursue a JD, and possibly a PhD, to become a civil rights attorney and, eventually, a law professor or university administrator. “Education gave me my life,” he says. “Now I want to make sure every kid has that chance.” His journey is exactly what PPIA strives to make possible: when talent meets opportunity, the pipeline strengthens, and communities rise with it.
And that is exactly what he’s doing.