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 a recent graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles with 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.
Katya Oks
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Katya Oks is a student at the University of California, Davis, where she is pursuing a dual degree in Political Science and English. As the Intern Supervisor for the Court Watch Program, she helps coordinate court coverage while training and supporting student journalists. She is passionate about criminal justice, storytelling, and using journalism to make the legal system more accessible to the community.
Graciela Tiu
Court Watch Program Intern Supervisor
Graciela Tiu is a student at the University of California, Davis, pursuing a BA in Political Science and Communication. She serves as the Intern Supervisor for the Vanguard Court Watch Program, where she oversees intern training, scheduling, and editorial operations for court coverage. She is passionate about increasing transparency within the criminal legal system and making legal reporting more accessible to the public. Graciela plans to pursue a career in communications, public policy, or law.
Mia Bella Rodgers
Vanguard Incarcerated Press Production Editor
Mia is a fourth-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 served as a Title IX Research Assistant at UCI. She also interned at the Law Offices of David Borsari. Mia aims to use her career and experience with systemic harm to understand and reimagine the institutions Americans function within.
Maxine Kenzie Pollock
Vanguard Incarcerated Press Production Editor
Maxine is a student at UC Berkeley.
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Dillan Horton
Board President
Cynthia Rodriguez
Board Vice President and Secretary
For over 40 years, Cynthia Rodriguez has practiced law serving the public and the State as a litigator. She has conducted innumerable jury trials, 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, and 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 an 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 as a self-employed professional, 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.
Stan Marubayashi
Board Treasurer
Matt Stone
Board Member
Natalya Weltman
Board Member
Joan Parkin
Board Member
Joan Parkin is a lifelong committed socialist and the Director of the Vanguard Incarcerated Press. She is the author of Perspectives from the Cell House: An Anthology of Prisoner Writings, and co-founder and former director of Feather River College’s Incarcerated Student Program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Today, she continues her advocacy and education work by teaching incarcerated students through Boston University.
Earlier in her career, Parkin served as the Chicago coordinator for the Death Row Ten—a group of wrongfully convicted prisoners who were tortured by former police commander Jon Burge and sentenced to death. Many of these men were later pardoned by Governor George Ryan, following a successful abolition campaign that culminated in historic death row commutations.
Joe Clifford
Board Member
Catherina Mirasol
Board Member
Catherina Mirasol is an accomplished problem-solver with exceptional communication skills and over 20 years of experience in accounting and project management. She brings more than 12 years of expertise in grant writing, grant management, staff coaching and mentoring, budget management, and operations. During her tenure at Hudson County Community College’s Continuing Education and Workforce Development, she secured $2.09 million in grant awards as either lead writer or key member of the Workforce Development team. She is the founder of Project 5356, a consulting business specializing in nonprofit grant writing and operations.
Michelle Lagos
Board Member
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
Board Member
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!
Jamel Walker
Board Member
Incarcerated since the age of 21, Jamel Walker is serving his 40th year of a life without parole sentence. He has earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communication Studies from CSU-Sacramento, and is a graduate student at CSU-Dominguez Hills, working on a Master’s of Arts degree in the Humanities, with an emphasis on abolition and liberation. He is a certified literacy mentor, a social and racial justice advocate, penal abolitionist, journalist, writer, inside editor and columnist for the VIP. Jamel is also the founder and executive director of the National Association of Incarcerated Scholars.
Christopher Bryson
Board Member
Chris Bryson holds a Psychology degree from Sacramento State University and works within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a behavioral health professional. As a reentry and rehabilitation program developer, he is dedicated to expanding education, workforce development, and initiatives that connect incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals with pathways to successful reentry. Chris brings frontline expertise to his work and is committed to advancing community-centered solutions, civic engagement, and equitable access to opportunity through his role on the Davis Vanguard Board of Directors.
Madison Whittemore
Board Member
Madi graduated from UC Davis in 2025 with her degrees in political science and professional writing. Once a Courtwatch Intern for the Vanguard, Madi also held other leadership positions within the organization before joining the board. Passionate about the justice system and providing resources and a voice for the under-represented, Madi is currently applying to law school and hopes to pursue a career as a criminal defense or medical malpractice attorney. Madi currently resides in Boise and works as a legal assistant at a civil litigation firm.