Michaela Anastasia Austin (she/her) serves as Research Manager for the Health and Human Rights Program, supporting the evaluation of interventions for youth at risk of commercial sexual exploitation. Prior to her appointment at Berkeley Law, Michaela was Grants Manager at First Place for Youth, the largest provider of housing and comprehensive services for transition-age foster youth in California. Weaving together internal data, external research, and a call for systems change, Michaela implemented thoughtful storytelling to secure $6M+ annually in wraparound support service funding for over 500 vulnerable foster youth. Before First Place for Youth, Michaela served as a research assistant for the Global Environmental Justice Project, where she analyzed human rights violations in prisons, and published annual reports with the goal of transforming criminal justice policy and public health protections. Her research focused on the abuse, trauma, and sterilization of incarcerated women, resistance behind bars, and the systematic malnourishment of inmates. Michaela holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her thesis “All is Unfair in Toxic Distribution: Environmental Resegregation in Northern California” investigated emerging intersections between environmental health hazards, migration patterns, and marginalized communities, and won the 2019 Environmental Studies Distinguished Senior Thesis Award. Michaela centers antiracism throughout all of her work, leveraging personal and professional training in her commitment to lifelong learning, reciprocity, and redressing power dynamics.