Madison Villanueva

Madison Villanueva (she/her) is the Coordinator of Community Initiatives & Grantmaking for the Asian Pacific Fund. She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to California at the age of 7. Growing up undocumented in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley fueled her dedication to improving the lives of low-income, immigrant communities of color. Compelled to fight for the rights of herself and her loved ones, Madison joined the undocumented youth movement. As a leader of UPLIFT (an undocumented API-led organization based in Los Angeles), she advocated for immigrants on the local, state, and national level while building a network of undocumented API changemakers.

Madison received her B.A. in Asian American Studies from UC Santa Barbara. She continued championing undocumented students by promoting educational equity, eventually helping to establish the Undocumented Student Services department on campus. She brought this experience to CSU Northridge as the DREAM Center Supervisor, where served over 1,000 undocumented students during her 3-year tenure.

To not lose herself in the work, Madison grounds herself by spending quality time with loved ones, watching movies and TV, going to art events, exploring restaurants, and cooking (when the restaurant budget runs low).