Dr. Patricia
Campos-Medina

Labor Educator | Academic Researcher | Labor & Political Leader | Public Speaker 

Dr. Patricia Campos-Medina is a Research-Teaching-Extension (RTE) Faculty and labor educator focusing on the intersection of race, immigration status and worker’s rights. She serves as the Executive Director of the Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University where she leads research, policy innovation and training to advance worker justice, collective bargaining rights and the interest of workers in today’s economy and society.

She is a political scientist and policy expert on workplace and labor issues, women rights, voting rights, immigrant worker justice and US trade relations. She holds a PhD from Rutgers University and a BS and MPA from Cornell University. She is a member of the Diverse Solidarity Economies (DISE), a collective of Black and Brown Feminist Scholars focused on research that decolonizes and diversifies the field of political economy. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a board member of the Network Action Foundation, supporting innovation in union organizing for workers in the gig and low wage economy. Prior to joining academia, she held top leadership roles in national and local labor unions such as SEIU, UNITERE, Workers United (formerly UNITE) and LCLAA-AFL-CIO.

Dr. Campos-Medina is a former candidate for the US Senate in New Jersey (2024) and has been recognized as an influential labor and political leader by several publications in the NYC (New York City) metro area. She currently serves as an Advisory Committee Member for ELLA Wins/Ready to Run, a campaign training program of the Center for American Women in Politics and is a Visiting Fellow at the Eagleton Institute for Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She is the President of Latina Civic and a board member of PODER PAC, two organizations advancing women political representation in state legislatures and in the US Congress.

She is the Host and Executive Producer of her podcast Activista Rise Up, a forum for activists to engage everyday people in the work of promoting social and economic justice. She is an op-ed columnist and published author. Follow her on social media @DrCamposMedina.