San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Xochitl Carrion graduated from high school two and one-half years early.
She earned her degree in Women’s, Chicana/o’s and LGBT Studies from UCLA. In 2004, she was awarded the Justice & Diversity Center’s Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship as a student at UC Hastings College of the Law. While at Hastings, Carrion received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Current State and Local Government Problems.
Carrion is a shining example of the impact that an investment in JDC’s scholarship program can have on helping to diversify the community and the legal community.
Carrion describes herself as an “out-and-proud” Queer Latina of Mexican/Puerto-Rican descent. Prior to working at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, she worked as a real estate attorney representing nonprofit, affordable housing developers, government agencies, and private parties throughout the state of California. Carrion says that going to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office “seemed like a good fit to transition her career into being a legal advocate for the community.” Carrion wants to be “a part of the solution and create safe neighborhoods for our diverse community.”
Carrion has held leadership positions in more than thirty nonprofit and civic organizations at the local, state, and national level. In 2011, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the California Law Revision Commission, where she served as the 2012-2013 chair. She was the youngest person to serve as a member, chair, and vice-chair, and the only Latina/o that was Senate-confirmed to sit as a commissioner. Among the latest of many recognitions Carrion has received for her work is being named the 2015 Rising Alumna of the Year by UC Hastings and a recipient of the 2016 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award.
If you would like more information about the Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program, or to make a donation to help another student making a difference in our community, contact Elizabeth McGriff at emcgriff@sfbar.org.
