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.
Cres Vellucci
Editor
Veteran news reporter and editor, including stints at the Sacramento Bee, Woodland Democrat, and Vietnam war correspondent and wire service bureau chief at the State Capitol.
Jojo Kofman
Court Watch Program Intern Coordinator
Jojo is a recent Political Science graduate of the University of Vermont, originally from San Francisco. She is the intern 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 in the carceral system and plans to pursue a career in policy advocacy and criminal law.
Madison Whittemore
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Madison is a senior at UC Davis studying political science with a minor in professional writing. She is one of the intern supervisors and public outreach coordinators at the Vanguard. After graduating next year, Madison hopes to attend law school and pursue a career in criminal law with an emphasis on reformative justice which she is very passionate about.
Audrey Sawyer
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Audrey is one of the two intern supervisors with the Vanguard, currently residing in her hometown of Modesto. As an intern supervisor, she will help assist new interns with writing articles, help with setting intern schedules, the article submission process, or with weekly intern meetings. Her future career interests or goals range from attending law school to either work in criminal defense law or in immigration law as an attorney, or to continue with organizations similar to the Vanguard with an emphasis on wrongful convictions.
Casey Rawlings
Court Watch Intern Recruiter: Southern California
Casey is a fourth year student at UCLA majoring in Political Science and Sociology. As the Southern California intern recruiter, she engages with creative methods to expand the court watch program in Los Angeles and at UCLA specifically though strategic marketing and community partnerships.
Sophie Yoakum
Vanguard Incarcerated Press Production Editor
Sophie manages and edits the monthly Vanguard Incarcerated Press newsletter and edits, produces, and conducts outreach for the Everyday Injustice podcast. She graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Professional Writing and now lives in the Bay Area.
Emeline Crowder
Social Media and Marketing Coordinator
Emeline is a third year at UC Davis, majoring in International Relations and French. As the social media manager for the Vanguard, she creates content for the Instagram page and helps to increase engagement with Vanguard media. When she graduates next year, she hopes to pursue a career in diplomacy.
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.