Nubia Peña ('16) describes her experience at the S.J. Quinney College of Law as a “transformative journey”—one full of challenges and illuminating experiences. Yet one could also say that transformation is a theme permeating throughout Peña’s life, beginning at the young age of four when her family immigrated to the United States from Mexico.
“My three sisters and I were raised in Philadelphia by my incredible mother, who journeyed to America with the prayer in her heart that her daughters would have a better life. She left a career as a teacher and principal and had to begin all over again, but she never complained as she worked during the day and attended English classes at night,” Peña says. “Her grit and determination have been a blueprint for my life, and I am grateful that her example gave my twin sister and I the courage to move to Utah, which has now been my home for close to 25 years.”
In fact, Peña credits her mother’s example to help others on the frontlines as the example for her to follow, thus building a lifelong passion for social justice activism, advocacy, youth rights, and empowerment for marginalized and disenfranchised communities.
“I remember observing her interactions as she worked with people who had cognitive and physical disabilities, adults who were verbally and physically non-communicative and wholly dependent on their caretakers. They were vulnerable and I saw the way she protected them, treating each of them with tremendous dignity,” Peña says. “I knew then and there that I wanted to follow in her footsteps—to do, in my own unique way, what I could with the skills and talents I had to stand in the gap for our most vulnerable and invisible communities.”
Advocating for families and survivors of abuse
And Peña found a way to help. Prior to law school, she spent 10 years as a law enforcement victim advocate, serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence, child abuse, and human trafficking, and helping families who lost loved ones to suicide, homicide, and violent crimes.
As a young child, she recalls a family friend sharing her story of victimization and “feeling a deep sense of indignation” but being unable to do anything. Then years later in a criminology class in college, Peña heard the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault share their mission and felt compelled to get involved.
“My journey began with me exploring options, which led me to knocking on the door of the victim advocate program at the sheriff’s office. I went from an intern to joining part time and was later promoted to a full-time advocate who oversaw community engagement to ensure victims from the farthest margins knew help was available,” Peña recalls. “Within a few years, I was speaking and training at local, national and international conferences, highlighting best practices, offering policy recommendations to protect victims’ rights, and helping equip frontline providers to better work with our most under-resourced communities.”
Leaning in at law school
As a law enforcement victim advocate, Peña saw many aspects of the justice system, which ultimately led her to pursue a JD degree at the College of Law.
“My time as an advocate uniquely trained me to use a compassionate framework so I could better work with people in crisis. I was committed to helping protect their rights, elevating their concerns, and treating them with dignity in the process. Every moment informed my view of justice and fueled my desire to make the system more accessible, more trauma-informed, and infinitely more fair,” Peña says.
Peña initially thought she’d make the natural transition from victim advocate to prosecutor upon entering law school. However, through the mentorship of professors, new opportunities changed the trajectory of Peña’s career to public defense with an emphasis in systemic policy. As a result, Peña contributed to several reports and presented them at national conferences, while also organizing roundtables with community stakeholders to discuss systemic gaps for migrant survivors and to explore possible institutional solutions.
In addition, she founded the Social Justice Student Initiative at the College of Law, which hosted a human trafficking symposium in 2014. This symposium is an annual event that continues today and is now hosted by Utah Trafficking in Persons (UTIP). The upcoming symposium will be held on Jan. 23, 2025, at the College of Law.
Peña recalls many special memories from her law school days, including two fellowships—one with Oxford University’s Consortium for Human Rights and the other with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. But she also valued her time as a Pro Bono Initiative fellow and found her internship with Judge Clark Waddoups (’73) deeply meaningful.
“Judge Waddoups would often invite law school students into his chambers and allow us to ask questions about the cases we had observed, the reasoning behind his decisions, and the process he followed to arrive at his legal conclusion,” Peña says. “He was incredibly warm and approachable, and his willingness to humanize the cases, the issues, and the process was a memorable learning experience that promoted transparency, which helped inform my perception of how decisions were made from the bench.”
Finding impactful mentors and building relationships
Utah Law’s faculty members weren’t the only mentors who inspired and championed Peña’s professional development. She credits many practitioners (and alums!) from Salt Lake City’s legal community who offered guidance and encouragement along the way. One in particular—Pamela Vickrey (’99)—gave Peña her first job out of law school.
“Because of the reports, clinics, workshops, and projects I had participated in and my ongoing advocacy for marginalized communities, Pam took a chance and hired me as soon as I passed the bar. While I was part of her team at Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys, Pam allowed me to introduce culturally responsive, innovative, and affirming practices when dealing with my clients,” Peña says. “I could show up beyond being their attorney and also be their cheerleader, faith minister, big sister, advocate, and perpetual optimist, believing we could encourage, support, invest in, and love our clients across the finish line.”
In her current role as Gov. Spencer Cox's senior advisor of access and opportunity and director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs (MCA), Peña incorporates the lessons she learned throughout her education and career “to promote well-being for all Utahns” by exploring various resources to aid those most vulnerable.
“Much of my work is rooted in building strong relationships with community leaders, advocacy groups, and stakeholders representing underserved populations so that we develop and maintain effective communication regarding state services and opportunities available to Utah residents,” Peña says.
The role allows Peña to continue working in victim advocacy in partnership with Dr. Susan Madsen, founder and director of the Utah Women in Leadership Project. Together, they have organized stakeholder meetings with those involved in responding to and preventing domestic and sexual assault (DSA) in Utah, which has one of the highest rates of DSA in the nation.
Fostering collective recovery and growth
Six months into her new role as division director, Gov. Gary R. Herbert asked Peña, Byron Russell and Ze Min Xiao to oversee the multicultural advisory committee of Utah’s COVID-19 response to ensure families and communities throughout Utah had access to resources during the pandemic. This model of response received local and national recognition for its culturally responsive cross-sector collaboration.
“It was an incredibly humbling experience to see leaders from various backgrounds and fields of expertise find effective solutions and ensure that families and communities were not left behind as we sought to recover from the health crisis,” Peña says. “This committee was a beautiful example of how Utahns can rally together to accomplish challenging and impactful endeavors for the greater good of the communities we serve.”
As a result of the pandemic and changing political landscape, the MCA division has expanded its reach throughout Utah by 1) launching new grant programs and initiatives to serve vulnerable populations; 2) conducting statewide surveys and writing nationally recognized policy reports to identify areas for exploration during the legislative process; and 3) reimagining youth programming to offer more opportunities in leadership, civic engagement, volunteerism, and college and career readiness.
“Serving in this role has provided me with a deep desire to grow opportunities for emerging leaders to get involved and know they have a place at the table. The MCA staff is constantly innovating and developing programming that invites young professionals to engage and imagine their role in local and state government, to serve on boards and commissions, and contribute to the decision-making landscape by working across aisles,” Peña says. “Our community events have shown that young professionals are seeking ways to connect and be heard.”
Going national—and global
Peña describes yet another profound experience as a 2023 Presidential Leadership Scholars award recipient, where she learned more about George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential experiences. This opportunity allowed her, over the course of a year, to interact with a diverse group of professionals, visit each presidential center, and dine with presidents Bush and Clinton to hear their most memorable lessons learned while in the Oval Office.
“I was exposed to a higher caliber and diverse network of established cross-sector professionals that were brought together to consider our individual and collective roles in protecting our democracy, promoting bipartisan collaboration, and finding common-ground solutions that serve the greater good,” Peña says. “This experience humbled me, inspired me, and changed me. After every module, I returned eager to find additional ways to serve on a national and global level and explore how to better serve the state I love dearly.”
In June 2022, Peña represented Gov. Cox in Lausanne, Switzerland, to present Utah’s formal bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the winter Olympic games in 2034. She was moved by her experience visiting the museum that shared Utah’s role in creating unity and connection in the aftermath of 9/11.
Peña, and the state of Utah, may take another transformational journey to welcome the world in 2034.
“I gained an immediate love and respect for the possibility of Utah hosting the games in 2034 because I understood the significance behind the platform we could potentially host. These games have the power to unite, to reduce divisions, and to inspire generations in the process of preparing to welcome the world once again,” Peña says. “I was immensely grateful for the trust given to me during the process of presenting to the IOC leadership and for the opportunity to offer recommendations for an Olympic experience that would be far reaching and inclusive of our most underrepresented communities.”