Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez (Merrill ’81, community studies) has dedicated his life to justice, healing, and empowerment. As the founder of Barrios Unidos (BU) in Santa Cruz, he has worked tirelessly to uplift underrepresented communities, support incarcerated individuals, and promote violence prevention. What started as a group that met inside UCSC student housing, has become a beacon in Santa Cruz County, serving as a local hub of social justice work.
Alejandrez was deeply influenced by renowned figures like Harry Belafonte, who acted as a close mentor and entrusted him with career-defining opportunities, and César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, who instilled in him a commitment to grassroots activism. Father Greg Boyle shaped his approach to gang intervention and reentry support, while global leaders like Hugo Chávez exposed him to international discussions on justice.
These relationships reinforced Alejandrez’s dedication to mentorship, nonviolence, and community empowerment, driving his lifelong mission to uplift marginalized communities and provide alternatives to violence for future generations.
“Today, I sit here at Barrios Unidos trying to decide the best way to keep that legacy going, because it's not just my legacy,” Alejandrez said. “It's the legacy of all these people I had the privilege to be with.”
BU runs ten programs spanning at-risk youth engagement to reintegration programs for incarcerated individuals. These programs serve Barrios Unidos’s mission to promote multicultural social justice, nonviolence, and economic equity through cultural healing, civic leadership, and community development.
Dozens of UCSC students intern with Barrios Unidos every year, gaining valuable frontline experience that sets them apart in their careers, including UCSC alumna Carmen Perez. Perez, who once sat in Alejandrez’s office as a UCSC student, led the Women's March in DC in 2017. Other former students have made an impact globally, from Africa to Albuquerque.
Alejandrez, who strongly credits UC Santa Cruz with helping to shape his vision and setting him on a lifelong path of preaching nonviolence, is grateful to be able to pay forward opportunities to UCSC students.
“I always say that UC Santa Cruz saved my life,” Alejandrez said. “UC Santa Cruz gave me an opportunity, and I take that very seriously.”
A Vietnam War veteran struggling with addiction and violence in his Fresno neighborhood, Alejandrez sought an escape from the cycle of street wars and drug trafficking that surrounded him. Initially aiming for La Raza Studies at Hayward, a wrong turn led him to Santa Cruz, where he found himself in the midst of a campus protest—his first encounter with UCSC. Staff within the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) welcomed him and helped him enroll.
Alejandrez’s time at UC Santa Cruz was transformative, giving him the structure and flexibility to channel his lived experiences into activism and community work. He had dipped into community organizing while a student at Fresno City College, so EOP staff encouraged Alejandrez to pursue the community studies major.
Alejandrez engaged in cultural and community-based projects, started a theater group, organized lowrider car shows, and taught media production classes. He also launched Barrios Unidos, initially holding meetings in student housing and expanding outreach to surrounding communities, advocating for peace and nonviolence.
“I knew I was going to stay in Santa Cruz and definitely wasn't going back to Fresno or anywhere in the Central Valley at that point,” Alejandrez said. “Santa Cruz is a beautiful place.”
UCSC alumna Barbara Garcia gave him his first job with Salud Para La Gente.
“She believed in me,” Alejandrez said, who struggled to find a job post-graduation. “That's really what I needed. I needed someone to believe in me.”
Alejandrez found stability in Santa Cruz and built a life in the county.
Now 40 years sober, Alejandrez continues to put belief in others the way Garcia did for him through Barrios Unidos.
All of Alejandrez’s work in Santa Cruz traces back to the start he got at UCSC.
“All these things in my life today, I wouldn’t have had if I hadn't come to UC Santa Cruz,” Alejandrez said. “If I had stayed in Fresno, I wouldn’t be here today. So when I hug my grandkids, I always say it's like hugging the trees at UC Santa Cruz. That's how I feel.”
