Dave Saldana

Dave Saldana, counsel at Barrera and Associates, specializes in employment law, particularly discrimination, wrongful termination, and whistleblower retaliation. A native Angeleno and the son of working-class parents, Dave began his legal career representing union members, and has fought to protect the rights of working people throughout his career.

A graduate of University of Southern California Gould School of Law, specializing in labor, employment, and civil rights law, he was research assistant to the eminent constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, and taught journalism courses at USC-Annenberg School for Communication.

Before law school, Dave was an Emmy-winning TV news producer, as well as an accomplished print journalist. His writing has appeared in such diverse outlets as Reader’s Digest, The Progressive, Al Jazeera Online, and Surfer Magazine. He worked in television stations throughout California and New York City, and nationally for MTV News. His B.A. in Journalism was earned at University of California-Santa Cruz and his Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University.

Dave has put his varied life experiences to work in the public advocacy sphere, including serving as communications director for the United Electrical Workers Union and Free Press policy think tank, Deputy Editorial Director of Media Matters for America, Media Advisor to the National Security and Human Rights Campaign, and Senior Fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy. As a communications advisor in the Republic of North Macedonia, he also served as a speechwriter to the Prime Minister and led a successful public information reform effort in the Office of the Public Prosecutor.