Magaly Lopez

Magaly Lopez is a research and evaluation leader focused on advancing social justice, equity, and economic mobility for communities of color. She serves as Associate Director at the UCLA Labor Center, where she leads research and evaluation efforts that inform equitable workforce development policy and practice across California. Her work is grounded in applied research, program evaluation, and community-engaged methodologies that translate data into actionable insight.

Over more than a decade, Magaly has contributed to policy and research initiatives across academic and nonprofit settings that reimagine workforce systems through a racial equity lens. At the UCLA Labor Center, she helped develop evaluation frameworks for High Road Training Partnerships, a central approach to advancing equitable workforce solutions. Previously, she held research roles at the Equity Research Cooperative and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, specializing in immigrant integration, qualitative analysis, and cross-sector collaboration.

Magaly’s work emphasizes partnership-driven research, culturally responsive data collection, and strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations. Beyond her professional work, Magaly has played a central role in strengthening the PPIA alumni community through leadership of the Southern California Alumni Chapter and co-leadership of the Alumni Advisory Council, helping formalize chapters and build mentorship and graduate education pathways that serve as a pipeline into Board service.

She holds a Master of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and is bilingual in English and Spanish.