Gabriela Koc was born in Venezuela to Peruvian parents and is a youth advocate, proud immigrant, and political organizer. She is a proud UCONN alumna with a B.S. in Biology with a Pre-Medicine concentration, and a M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction, with a CT teaching certification in 7th-12th science. During the pandemic she won her current seat as President of Connecticut Young Democrats, making her the first woman of color and Latina in the position. As President, she has led organizing efforts for regional chapters in one of most rural areas of the state, the Northwest Corner Young Democrats and the New London County Young Democrats and passed an amendment to allow non-citizens as members of the organization.

Her career expands over three areas; education, law, and government. As a paralegal she specialized in immigration law and civil suits. She left her position as a senate aide in the CT legislature in 2022 to work as Deputy Political Director on Governor Ned Lamont’s successful re-election campaign. She currently lives in Stamford, where she serves as one of the two youngest members on the Democratic City Committee. In her free time, she is a career coach for students at UCONN, providing a crucial perspective as a first-generation college graduate.

She volunteers with the Juvenile Review Board, a restorative justice-based court diversion program for juveniles, and is a Board Member at The Center for Wellbeing-Centro Bienestar, a non-profit that provides culturally responsive mental health services for the uninsured. At the beginning of 2023 she was appointed to work at the Office of the Treasurer as part of his executive team, where she is part of the pioneering CT Baby Bonds initiative.