Jocelyn Yow has nearly ten years of experience in politics and has worked at all levels of government. 
Her story of political activism began in Inland Empire, California where, as a college student without a car, she relied heavily on the public transit system. In fact, she rode the bus 2.5 hours daily each way in order to take classes with the goal of transferring to a four-year institution. Eventually, Jocelyn transferred to University of California, Berkeley with the full intention of running for office.
With the help of IGNITE National CEO Sara Guillermo, Jocelyn learned all of the elements of running for office, from fundraising to phone banking. A few years later, she launched her first campaign. She won her election for Eastvale City Council in Riverside County with a 40 point margin at the age of 23, and she went on to be the first woman of color serving on the city council. She took the helm as mayor of Eastvale in December 2020 and — at the age of 25 — became the youngest woman of color to serve as mayor of a California city.
In addition to serving as the mayor of her city, Jocelyn is also the Legislative Advocacy Director at IGNITE National. Before joining IGNITE, she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives.
As the daughter of a Chinese-Malaysian immigrant and a Vietnamese refugee, she has deep empathy for immigrants and is committed to uplifting her community. Her identity as a mother also strongly informs her decision-making and how she views the world. Before she served on Eastvale City Council, there were no changing tables in the bathrooms - so she had them installed. Parking spaces were so tiny and inaccessible that, as a pregnant woman, she once needed to climb through the trunk of her car into the driver’s seat - so, she worked to ensure that parks and community centers had family parking spaces available. As an active member of the community, she is able to advocate for the little things that people wouldn't necessarily think about.
Jocelyn obtained her Master's degree in government from Harvard Extension; Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Associate's degree from Norco College.