Willie Gin is an assistant professor in political science at Sonoma State University. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and has previously taught at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He specializes in race and ethnic politics, law and politics, and technology and politics, and has published a book and articles on minorities in American political development. He grew up in the Bay Area and has an interest in connecting the classroom to issues in the local community.