Bio
Samantha Itazawa is a native San Diegan with a commitment to advocacy and social justice. Before joining the ACLUF-SDIC, she worked as a policy advisor for San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, focusing on public safety matters and particularly on juvenile justice issues. She helped in drafting and implementing a county initiative to phase out the use of OC spray in juvenile detention facilities and facilitating the county’s Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. Samantha also previously clerked for the Honorable Anthony J. Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California for over three years. After law school, she worked as a housing staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego.
Samantha earned her J.D. at California Western School of Law, where she will return in fall 2026 as an adjunct professor. In law school, Samantha worked as a legal intern for the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, San Diego Coastkeeper, and California Western School of Law’s Community Law Project. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, crocheting, and volunteering with local organizations.