Evelyn Rangel-Medina (Wixárika) is an interdisciplinary legal scholar who writes and teaches in the areas of immigration law, constitutional criminal procedure, employment discrimination law, indigenous rights, and race and the law. Her publications have appeared or are forthcoming in the Boston University Law Review, the Boston College Law Review, and the UC Irvine Law Review. Her work investigates intersectional subordination and its various iterations, particularly how the system of immigration law and enforcement produces racialized outcomes for mixed-status families and communities, especially for U. S. citizens of color. Additionally, her research examines employment discrimination and explores ways to improve access to justice for working people.
Professor Rangel-Medina is the first person in her family to attend college in the United States. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she served as an Associate Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law and as Co-Chair of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion. She also co-founded the Building Latinx/e Pipelines Mentorship Program for the La Raza Law Students Association. After graduation, she was named an inaugural University of California Presidential Public Interest Law Fellow and received the Francine Marie Diaz Social Justice Memorial Award. Before law school, Professor Rangel-Medina graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earning three Bachelor of Arts degrees in English Literature, Women’s Studies, and Political Science with a specialization in Public Policy & International Relations. While in college, she co-founded several organizations, including the United Coalition for Immigration Rights (UCIR), the Alliance of Student Organizations of Color (ASOC), and the UNLV Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Additionally, she graduated with high honors from the Community College of Southern Nevada with an Associate of Arts degree in English. She served as Student Body President of the Associated Students of the College of Southern Nevada. Upon graduation, she was named a Regents’ Scholar by the University and Community College System of Nevada.
Before joining the Temple Law faculty, Professor Rangel-Medina was appointed as the inaugural Visiting Assistant Professor at the Center for Racial and Economic Justice at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She also held the positions of Managing Director at United for Respect and Chief of Staff at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United). Additionally, she was formerly the Policy Director for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and a Sustainable Development Fellow at the Greenlining Institute.