UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
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# Graphical map of UC San Diego's north campus, with a dark blue color overlay on the right, including a branding element of UC San Diego shaped as a tridentFacilities, Directions & Maps
The center is located in the northwest portion of the UC San Diego campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean near the beautiful Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. The center is on the ground floor in the Institute of the Americas complex.
**USMEX Location:** International Lane, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093
## Parking
The closest parking to USMEX is in the Pangea Parking Structure on Pangea Drive & Scholars Drive North. Visitor parking passes can be purchased for $3/hour or $30/day.
Parking pay stations do not dispense change. Pay with any combination of the following:
* Cash — $1 and $5 bills only
* Visa, MasterCard, or American Express
## Buildings & Walking Directions
### GPS and USMEX Buildings Map
*  - Choose any of our buildings on this map and click "View in Google Maps" for walking directions from your current location.
### UC San Diego Campus Map
## Public Transportation
### Campus Shuttle
GPS and USMEX is served by the UC San Diego North Campus Shuttle ! and West Campus Connector ! at the Pangea Parking Structure on Scholars Drive N. 
Our shuttle is free for visitors and runs from 6:30 a.m.—11:55 p.m. during our Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, and from 6 a.m.—7 p.m. during the summer and academic breaks.  of our campus shuttles, or .
### Bus
GPS and USMEX is accessible by Route 101 of the North County Transit District (NCTD). The bus stops are on North Torrey Pines Road. From there, our school is a 10 minute walk.  for arrival times and to plan your route.
#### From the south
The closest bus stop is across the street at 
#### From the north
## Rideshare
The easiest way to reach our school via Uber, Lyft, or other rideshare methods is to enter “Institute of the Americas” into your search. Our main building is located on International Lane & Thurgood Marshall Lane.
## Directions
**From the North**
 From southbound interstate 5, exit at Genesee Avenue (Exit 29)
 Turn Right onto Genesee Avenue West
 Turn Left onto North Torrey Pines Road
 Continue onto North Torrey Pines Road to Pangea Drive
 Turn Left onto Pangea Drive
 Turn Left at the stop sign onto Scholars Drive North
 Turn Left into Parking Structure: parking permits sold from machines on top level
 **From the South**
 From northbound Interstate 5, exit at Genesee Avenue (Exit 29)
 Turn Left onto Genesee Avenue West
 Continue on North Torrey Pines Road to Pangea Drive
 Turn Left into Parking Structure: parking permits sold from machine on top level
 **From the Airport**
 Turn onto Airport Exit (Slight Left)
 Airport Exit becomes North Harbor Drive
 Turn Left onto West Laurel Street
 Turn Left onto Pacific Highway
 Turn Right onto West Washington Street
 Turn Left onto San Diego Avenue
 Merge onto I-5 North
 Exit at Genesee Avenue (Exit 29)
For general information, please contact (858) 534-4503
## 
* Directions
UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 534-2230
Copyright © 2024 Regents of the University of California.
All rights reserved.
* Feedback
3. Contact Us
# Photo of the front entrance of the UC San Diego Institute of Americas building; the right side has a dark blue overlay with the UC San Diego branded element of a stylized tridentAbout
## General Information
usmex@ucsd.edu
Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies
School of Global Policy and Strategy
University of California San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive # 0519
La Jolla, CA 92093-0519
## Media Inquiries
Christine Clark
UC San Diego Public Relations
(858) 534-7618, (858) 775-8201 (cell)
## Social Media
## Journalist Resources
* Contact Us
2. Policy Forums
# Policy Forums
The center is actively engaged with partner institutions, working groups and forums to conduct rigorous academic research that can be applied to the creation, implementation and evaluation of public policy. The center is privileged with the unique opportunity to engage in research on Mexico, Mexicans in the U.S., and the U.S.-Mexico relationship from its location on the border.
### CaliBaja Integration Working Group
This working group explores the cross-border relationship and the steps that might be taken to strengthen the CaliBaja region, which comprises parts of Southern California in the U.S. and Baja California in Mexico.
### U.S.-Mexico Forum
The Forum consists of five working groups: migration, security and public health, trade and economy, energy and sustainable development, and strategic diplomacy.
### Financial Inclusion of Mexican Migrants Working Group
The working group is publishing a research book analyzing the latest efforts in this regard such as banking, financial education and more.
### U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation Taskforce
In partnership with Justice in Mexico at the University of San Diego, the taskforce helps to inform the course of U.S.-Mexico security cooperation in the coming years.
### North and Central American Task Force on Migration
The task force is a non-governmental forum of academics, civil society and business leaders, and former policymakers in dialogue with current government officials created to facilitate a broadly driven solution dialogue among the countries involved in the crisis of migration and forced displacement in the region.
### U.S.-Mexico Climate Change Agenda Working Group
The Brookings Institution, Tec de Monterrey (ITESM), the Institute of the Americas and the center launched the working group in 2021 with the goal of identifying specific areas of shared interest and cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico towards climate change.
* Policy Forums
3. CaliBaja Integration Working Group
#
# CaliBaja Integration Working Group
Beginning in March 2020, the U.S.-Mexico border was partially closed for nearly 20 months due to health concerns arising from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Center for U.S- Mexican Studies at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, in partnership with the , launched a working group seeking to understand how the state of emergency affected different aspects of the cross-border relationship and explored the steps that might be taken to strengthen the CaliBaja region, which comprises parts of Southern California in the U.S. and Baja California in Mexico.
A key initiative of the working group is to facilitate dialogues between regional leaders from the public, private and social sectors on key topics for strengthening CaliBaja’s integration such as governance, cross-border infrastructure, healthcare systems, integrated supply chains, migration, energy, environment and many more.
The first stage of the working group was named “CaliBaja: Emerging Stronger after COVID-19” and was designed with the goal to understand the opportunity areas that were made visible by the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped us strengthen existing transborder mechanisms and, if necessary, create new ones. A series of 16 conversations were held to identify best practices and areas for improvement during this first phase.
## CaliBaja: Emerging Stronger after COVID-19
As a result of the working group, a report comprising 13 brief chapters with specific recommendations on how to strengthen CaliBaja’s integration will be published.
In addition to providing specific policy recommendations, each chapter includes an analysis of the pre-pandemic conditions for cooperation, what happened as a result of COVID-19 and the border shutdown, and the aspirations of CaliBaja’s stakeholders as an ideal state of transborder cooperation. We thank professor Paul Ganster for leading the report’s editing efforts.
## CaliBaja: Moving Forward Together
The working group is currently meeting under a new name that intends to highlight the optimism and collaboration that marks the CaliBaja region. The group’s monthly conversations serve as a follow-up to the lessons learned during the first 20 months of the pandemic, the current state of recovery and the future for the region. Thus far, meetings were held on migration, the border reopening and public health. The main takeaways of each meeting will soon be available in English and Spanish.
The working group’s ultimate goal is to help build a region that is more resilient, collaborative, equitable and sustainable.
The working group and projects are supported by  and 
## Working Group Members
### Co-chairs:
* , Professor and Director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
* Alicia Kerber-Palma, Mexican Consulate in San Diego
### Members:
* Paola Avila, City of San Diego
* Carolina Chavez, City of Chula Vista
* Ernesto Chávez, City of Tijuana
* Ietza Bojórquez, COLEF
* Rodolfo Cruz Piñeiro, COLEF
* Gudelia Rangel, COLEF
* Carlos de la Parra, COLEF
* Victor Espinoza Valle, COLEF
* Thomas Reott, Consulate General of the U.S. in Tijuana
* Christopher McHone, Consulate General of the U.S. in Tijuana
* Jett Thomason, Consulate General of the U.S. in Tijuana
* Andrea Giralt, Consultant
* Michael Kleeman, Consultant
* Carlos Jaramillo, DEITAC
* Cristina Hermosillo, DEITAC
* Mario Lopez, IEnova
* Pedro Montejo, INDEX Zona Costa
* Lety Martinez Hermosillo, International Community Foundation
* Ana Rosa Ochoa, Mexican Consulate in San Diego
* Marcela Merino, ProSalud
* Eduardo Acosta, RL Jones
* Hector Vanegas, SANDAG
* Paul Ganster, SDSU
* Kurt Honold, Secretaría de Economía e Innovación de Baja California
* Yara Amparo López, Secretaría de Educación de Baja California
* Gustavo de la Fuente, Secretaría de Economía e Innovación de Baja California
* Denice Garcia, County of San Diego
* Devonna Almagro, Office of San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas
* Pepe Galicot, Tijuana Innovadora
* Claudia Basurto, Tijuana Innovadora
* Andy Carey, U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership
* Rafael Velazquez Flores, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
* Monica Bauer, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
* Claudia Fernandez-Calleros, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
* Javier Gomez, City of San Diego
* Joaquin Luken, Smart Border Coalition
* David Perez Tejada, Secretaría de Economía e Innovación de Baja California
* Kenia Zamarripa, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
* Jimena Villaseñor, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
* Monica Morales, Secretaría General de Gobierno de Baja California
* Jorge Goytortua, CBX
* Karen Higareda, CBX
* Alejandra Mier y Teran, Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce
* James Gerber, Emeritus Professor of Economics, San Diego State University
* Tad Parzen, Burham Center
* Richard Ky, Institute of the Americas
## Takeaways
**Takeaways from meeting on "Dialogue of Women Leaders at the Border"**Dec. 3, 2024 | 
**Takeaways from meeting on "The spillover benefits of nearshoring in CaliBaja"**Sept. 10, 2024 | 
**Takeaways from meeting on "Medical tourism: challenges and opportunities"**May 28, 2024 | 
**Takeaways from meeting on “The impact of illicit arms trafficking on the border”**April 25, 2023
 | 
**Takeaways from meeting on “Challenges when sharing a vital resource: the Colorado River”**March 7, 2023
**T****akeaways from meeting on “Medical Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities”**Aug. 23, 2022
**Takeaways from meeting on "After Title 42"**June 21, 2022
**Takeaways from meeting on "Expanding Opportunities in CaliBaja's Biotech Ecosystem"**May 17, 2022 | 
**Takeaways from meeting on "The Impact of the Border Closure on Binational Students and Current Challenges"**March 22, 2022
**Takeaways from meeting on "The Energy Outlook in the CaliBaja Region"**
Feb. 23, 2022
**Takeaways from meeting on "The New COVID-19 Challenges in 2022"**Jan. 25, 2022
**Takeaways from meeting on "Reopening the Border: Challenges, Opportunities and Impacts of the 20-month Closure"**Nov. 16, 2021
**Takeaways from meeting on "Migration"**Oct. 26, 2021
* CaliBaja Integration Working Group
Copyright © 2025 Regents of the University of California.