Education Current Students

Marcela Alvarez is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. Marcela's research interests are heritage language speakers (HLS), linguistic identities and ideologies, and bilingual education. Marcela is especially interested in Spanish HLS who become bilingual classroom educators. Marcela is a graduate teaching fellow for the SKILLS program, under the supervision of her advisor Dr. Jin Sook Lee. Through SKILLS she collaborates closely with local high school students and their teachers to explore their understanding of language, and how it shapes their identity and experiences. Marcela also is the current McEnroe Reading Clinic Coordinator, under the supervision of Dr. Diana Arya, working to support community based literacy programs. Finally, Marcela works closely with Dr. Sarah Roberts on supporting elementary school teachers in their implementation of math language routines (MLRs) in their classrooms.

Amanda Andersen is a doctoral candidate and researcher at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Amanda uses an intersectionality and disability justice lens to investigate what students in higher education demand of their institutions for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion. Amanda also enjoys hiking, meditating, caring for plants and spending time at the Isla Vista Food Forest and other community gardens, cooking plant-based meals with local ingredients, and playing backgammon and other games with friends and family.

Fátima Andrade Martínez is a Ph.D. student with interests in the experiences and institutional services that undocumented students receive in higher education. She is co-advised by Dr. Tichavakunda and Dr. Mireles Rios. She received her B.A. in Latin American and Iberian Studies at UCSB, and worked in the Center for Educational Partnerships at UC Berkeley for two years as a college adviser. She currently works as an instructor for the School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society (SKILLS) Program and Educational eXcellence and Inclusion Training Opportunities (ÉXITO). Fátima can be reached at f_andrademartinez@ucsb.edu

Dina Naji Arch is a doctoral student emphasizing in quantitative methods in the social sciences under the guidance of Dr. Karen Nylund-Gibson. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from UC San Diego and minored in Business. She later earned an M.A. in Psychological Research, focusing in quantitative methods, from California State University, Fullerton, and an M.A. in Education from UCSB. Her current research interests include latent variable analyses, data visualization methods, and data science. She can be reached at dnaji@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Noreen Balos is a doctoral candidate with interests in STEM education, culture in STEM, and access & equity in STEM. Her faculty advisors include Dean Jeff Milem, Dr. Judith Green, Dr. Sharon Conley, and Dr. Gustavo Fischman. Noreen’s work has included issues or concepts in identity and discourse, industry and university partnerships, qualitative research and reasoning, and diversity and inclusion. Her specific interest is in higher education academic and support services to underrepresented, minority and first-generation students. Noreen can be reached at nbalos@education.ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).   

Juan is a first-generation college graduate and is currently in his third year as a Ph.D. student in education at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, UC Santa Barbara. He attended Long Beach City College before transferring to UC Berkeley, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Education in 2018. Juan joined the UC Santa Barbara campus in 2019, where he has worked as an academic advisor in the College of Letters and Science and works closely with transfer students. Juan's research is focused on academic probation and student retention using critical frameworks. Juan can be reached at: jbarreraalcazar@ucsb.edu.

Matthew Bennett is a Ph.D. student in Science and Math Education, but his specific interests are in science education in high school settings and in teacher education. His advisor is Dr. Danielle Harlow. Prior to starting at GGSE, Matthew taught high school science (mostly physics) for five years, which naturally has geared his research interests toward high school settings. Currently, he's interested in exploring how preservice secondary science teachers provide opportunities for students to engage in connection-making as a means for learning (generally, connecting old and new knowledge together in a way that facilitates transfer of learning). Matthew has also been involved in TAing for courses in the Physics department (6AL, 6BL) and the Education department (ED 191W Health and Wellbeing). Feel free to email Matthew at mbennett@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

As a third year Ph.D. student, Miriam Burnett has made it a priority to engage with California communities, currently across Santa Barbara and Goleta, particularly seeking ways to create inclusiveness and work with locals to better understand this country's evolving needs within higher education programs for recruiting underserved student populations. Burnett is committed to ensuring that UCSB GGSE reflects an open mind to service both the social emotional needs and academic growth of a marginalized student population and their experiences within historically White colleges and universities. Burnett is a giver, helping students with non-traditional needs across the finish line to graduation while spreading an initiative to commit to reshaping campuses and communities through advocacy for equity. Ultimately, through transformative research and an interest in data mining, Burnett aspires to attend law school. She believes it is the responsibility of the law to revisit how educational policy and practices ensure equity is met. As a mother, it is her son who motivates her to press forward through her Ph.D. program so that he may experience education more inclusively.

Candieas is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. Candieas's research focuses on education policy and institutional quality with an emphasis in quantitative methods in the social sciences. His current projects include evaluating education and workforce development programs, longitudinal outcomes of intervention programs, and student sense of belonging internationally across institutions of higher education. His academic work has been presented at the American Evaluation Association annual conference, and his technical reports have been used for regional planning and implementation of California public policy initiatives. You can contact Candieas at trcandieas@ucsb.edu or visit his website https://sites.google.com/view/trcandieas/.

Delwin Carter is a doctoral student in the GGSE Department of Education emphasizing quantitative methods working under Karen Nylund-Gibson. He received his B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Experimental Psychology at California State University, Northridge as well as an M.A. in Education at University of California, Santa Barbara. His broad interests include latent variable mixture modeling, measurement, pedagogy, and data visualization. Substantively, Delwin has collaborated on several projects. He has worked with Dr. Jill Sharkey on several evaluations of state programs in collaboration with Santa Barbara County Probation including California Public Safety Realignment and Drug Court. He has also worked with Dr. Mike Furlong and Project Covitality where he has contributed to numerous projects and publications focusing on Social Emotional Health among California pre-teen and teenage students. Methodologically speaking, Delwin developed a novel technique to estimate effect sizes in mixture modeling and has established measurement equivalence among various health related scales for underrepresented populations. His current research involves mixture modeling with an emphasis of cross validation techniques, treatment of distal outcomes, and current practices in latent transition analysis. Pedagogically, Delwin has been a teaching assistant for numerous graduate and undergraduate level statistics and research methods courses. Delwin can be found @  https://delwincarter.com(link is external) and reached @ delwincarter@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Isaac is an educational researcher who critically examines colleges and universities–and the leaders that lead them. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Education under the Policy, Leadership and Research Methods emphasis. Isaac graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Sociology prior to serving in Americorps through Communities in Schools of Greater Phoenix. He then returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to lead an after school program before making the shift to higher education as a student affairs administrator at the Goldman School of Public Policy. Isaac has also received an MA in Higher Education, Administration and Leadership from Fresno State and an MA in Education here at UCSB. Currently, he works as a graduate research assistant for his advisor, Dean Jeff Milem, and Dr. Rebeca Rios, and teaches in the departments of Sociology and Education. His dissertation is a critical incident analysis of university presidents at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) that intends to inform future surveys of postsecondary leaders. Isaac is currently on the job market for faculty positions, including roles that emphasize higher education, equity, leadership and organizations. He can be reached at i_castro@ucsb.edu or at LinkedIn.

Diana Chagolla is a doctoral student in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, specializing in the area of Culture and Development; her advisor is Dr. Laura Romo. Diana obtained her bachelors degree in Sociology from San Diego State University (SDSU). While in San Diego, she worked with community-led organizations to address educational and human rights concerns in her community. At UCSB, she has served as a graduate mentor for first generation undergraduate students participating in the New Heights Mentoring Program offered through the Chicano Studies Institute (CSI). Diana continues to mentor undergraduate students via her role as a graduate student research assistant at the CSI Center for Research in Latino Health and Adolescent Development. Her research interests are health education and health psychology as it pertains to Latinx/a/o adolescents, families, and communities. Her current research focuses on how Latina mothers communicate with adolescent daughters about healthy lifestyles, while providing messages that encourage healthier eating and exercising habits, and messages cautioning daughters about chronic health diseases. Diana can be reached at: diana_chagolla@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Huay Chen is a doctoral student working with Dr. Jin Sook Lee. She completed her B.A. at UCLA in Linguistics & Asian Languages and Cultures and her M.A. in Elementary Education at NYU Steinhardt. After teaching elementary school in the NYCDOE for three years, Huay went back to NYU to complete a post-MA advanced certification program in Bilingual Education. At UCSB, she has served as the lead coordinator for the McEnroe Reading Clinic, a SKILLS (School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society) instructor, and has TAed for the Linguistics, Asian American Studies, and Education Departments. Her interests lie in bilingualism, language acquisition, and heritage language speakers. Huay is a Gates Millennium Scholar. She can be contacted at huaycw@gmail.com(link sends e-mail).

Devon M. Christman (she/her) is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate working under the mentorship of Dr. Diana Arya. Devon received her B.S. in Physics from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2019 and her M.A. in Education from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2021. At UCSB she is currently a program coordinator for University Community Links Youth Summit. Devon’s research interests center around informal STEM education with a focus in physics and computer science K-6 level. Devon can be contacted at devonmchristman@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail) or reached through her website devonmchristman.com

Mary Franitza (she/her) is a doctoral student advised under Professor Jin Sook Lee. Her research focuses on mentorship, community-based programs, and learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Mary has served as Vice President and President for the Graduate Student Association in Education and has worked extensively on developing the Department of Education's Research Symposium. Before attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, Mary worked in early childhood education and has developed leadership programs and curriculum. She continues to consult with summer camps looking to implement diversity and equity training and hate/bias intervention tactics. Currently, Mary is the Graduate Coordinator for School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society Program (SKILLS) as well as the co-host of the graduate school survival podcast, A Brown Girl & A White Girl. All correspondence can be directed to Mary's email, mfranitza@ucsb.edu.

Bradford Fried is a doctoral student in education working with Dr. Dorothy Chun and Dr. Richard Mayer. His emphases are in cognitive science and quantitative methods where he is researching the relationship between language, memory, and education, specifically the relationship between Mandarin tones, musical tones, and visualization. Bradford grew up playing in the creeks and forests of Northern Virginia outside DC and has been vegan since 1999. He graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon with a BA in philosophy during which he did a semester with NOLS and spent two terms in Guilin, China. After graduation, he moved back to Guilin where he taught EFL for the next 13 years, served as the director of international staff at Guangxi Normal University for five years, earned a master’s degree in teaching Chinese, and in 2009 founded the Chinese Language Institute (CLI) with his youngest brother to share their love of Chinese language and culture. Bradford can be reached at: BradfordFried@ucsb.edu.

John Galisky is a doctoral student working with Drs. Julie Bianchini and Danielle Harlow. He earned a B.A. in Physics and Astrophysics from U.C. Berkeley and an M.Ed. from UCSB. For 25 years John taught Physics, Earth Science, Electronics & Robotics and Space Science at Lompoc High School, next to Vandenberg Space Force Base. In 2000, he established the Space, Technology and Robotic Systems (STaRS) Academy, an engineering program that integrates core academics in Math, Science, and Language Arts with elective courses in Drafting, Engineering Design, Electronics, Robotics, and Manufacturing. John was a member of the State Superintendent’s STEM Task Force which culminated in the publication of “Innovate: A Blueprint for STEM Education” and he helped rewrite the California Science Framework to address Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In 2017, John was awarded an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship in Washington, DC. During his fellowship year, John worked in a congressional office as a legislative assistant on issues related to education, science and technology, energy and environment, immigration, labor, and gun control. John’s research focuses on integrating science with literacy and language development, especially in the elementary grades. Contact John at johngalisky@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Liliana Garcia is a doctoral student interested in STEM Education under the guidance of Julie Bianchini. She earned her B.S in Physics and obtained a single subject teaching credential through CalTeach at UC Irvine. Liliana previously worked with Upward Bound Trio Programs at Occidental College, preparing under-represented youth for successful pathways into college and work environments. Her experiences as a first-generation low-income student and as an educator in the Upward Bound program have shaped her research interests to include a culturally equitable curriculum in science for students in minority communities and science identity for under-represented groups. Her research interest also focuses on female students in STEM classrooms and their sense of belonging and motivation to pursue a STEM pathway in higher education. Liliana welcomes email correspondence at Lilianagarcia@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Ángela Godoy-Fernández (She/They) is a third-year Ph.D. student studying funds of knowledge, geography, and adolescent positioning in K-12 schools under the guidance of Dr. Jason Duque. Her master’s thesis, Brown Skin, Brown Consciousness, triangulates students’ maps, stories, and highlighted literature to demonstrate how geographies present themselves as bodies of knowledge and as shapers of the ways students navigate settler colonial institutions (Esteban-Guitart and Moll, 2014). Demonstrating how the Salinas Valley’s geography was utilized to create a history materializing interrelationships between agriculture and the Latine/x diaspora, Ángela’s research showcases how concepts such as familismo and cariño function shape the experiences of space and place, positioning adolescents and influencing present and future “navigation.” Currently working toward developing a theoretical framework that assists in the demonstration of a triangular visualization of a historical, spiritual, and environmental account of child consciousness, their research aims to assist K-12 researchers in understanding the changing positioning of adolescents in historically extracted communities that have been taught ethnic studies in their classrooms by teachers who have been educated by decolonial scholars in their own academic trajectories.  Her blog is available at: https://www.eastofcaramela.net/ Ángela can be reached at godoy@ucsb.edu, and office hours are listed here: https://calendly.com/eastofcaramela 

Jim Gribble is a doctoral student with an emphasis in technology at the elementary school level. His advisor is Dr. Danielle Harlow. He is interested in researching the impact computer coding has on the communication skills of children with autism. Prior to arriving at UCSB he was a Kindergarten teacher with TeachForAmerica in Charlotte, a founding 2nd grade teacher at an environmental start-up school in Chicago, technology coordinator and teacher at an IB PYP school in London and a 2nd grade Science and Coding teacher in San Francisco. He wrote the programming curriculum (based on Scratch language) for a school founded by the Chief Scientist of Twitter and founded a company dedicated to teaching children how to code in after-school and one-on-one contexts. Jim taught teachers how to code in the Design Lab at the Sonoma County Office of Education. He earned a B.A. in Psychology at Marquette University, an elementary teaching credential at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and an M.Ed. at San Francisco State University. Feel free to email Jim at: jgribble@education.ucsb.edu.(link sends e-mail)

Gabby Gutierrez-Serrano is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Education with an emphasis in Culture and Development working with Dr. Laura Romo. Her research examines the factors influencing Latina first-generation STEM majors’ motivation to persist to degree completion and aspire to STEM-related careers. Gabby received her B.A.in Chicana/o Studies with a minor in Education and M.A. in Education from UC Santa Barbara. As a graduate student, she has been a Teaching Assistant in the departments of Education and Chicana/o Studies, graduate student researcher at the Chicano Studies Institute, and assistant program coordinator at the Promise Scholars Program. Gabby can be reached at ggutierrezserrano@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Munila (Munira) Hailati is a doctoral student with program emphasize on Culture, Language, and Human Development. Her advisor is Dr. Amy Kyratzis. Munira received her MA degree with the focus on Education Policy in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her bachelor degree of Administrative Management at Beihang University of China. Munira’s research interests broadly lies on children’s language socialization and language practices in multilingual migration communities. She’s also interested in school districts and parents’ cooperations on developing family-based literacy program. Before Munira started pursuing studies in education field, she worked as an external fundraising associate partner in the nonprofit migrant school, as well as a literature teacher in international schools. She could be reached at munila_hailati@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Samantha Harris (she/her) is a doctoral candidate studying language and literacy education. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland College Park and an M.A. in TESOL  from Georgetown University. She taught English as a Second Language at community colleges in Maryland before coming to UCSB. Her research focuses on the intersections of language, race, immigration and education with a specific focus on heritage language learners and students classified as English Learners. She currently works as an instructor for the School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society (SKILLS) Program and is part of the Migration Initiative at UCSB. Samantha can be reached at syharris@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Christine Hirst Bernhardt is a passionate STEM educator and teacher leader from Southern California. She has taught STEM and astronomy in middle, high school and college, as well as to teachers through NASA’s Endeavor STEM Leadership program. Christine’s commitment to propelling the intersectional needs of STEM education have resulted in her appointment as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator, the Thomas J. Brennan award for Excellent Astronomy Teaching, participation aboard NASA’s SOFIA mission and travel to Chile as an educational ambassador. She is also an Emerging Teacher Educator fellow with the California Teacher Education Improvement Network. Christine is the lead for the U.S. Astronomy Education team and has worked for several curricular companies and advisory boards. As an educator, Christine utilized project-based learning to promote agency and equity in STEM through relevant and culturally applicable phenomena, which she plans to develop into her doctoral research at UC Santa Barbara. She developed a unique and regionally famous high altitude balloon experiment program, student space symposium and international space camp. Christine loves all things adventure; she raced mountain bikes until 2016, won two national championships, and founded the first all-women’s professional gravity mountain bike team to advance women in a male dominated industry. She holds an M.S. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota and an M.A. in Science Education from CSU Northridge.  Her research centers on the intersections of STEM/Astronomy and Social Justice and international STEM/Astronomy education and teacher professional development. She can be reached at Christinehb@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail) & Christinehbstem@gmail.com(link sends e-mail) @SpaceyProfessor www.astrolessons.com

Destiny Hoerberg is a doctoral student with an emphasis in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies, under the advisory of Dr. George Singer and Dr. Andrew Fedders. Destiny holds an M.A. in Education from UCSB, a B.A. in Psychology from CSU Channel Islands, and is currently working on completing her supervision hours to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Previously, Destiny has worked with children with disabilities and their families as both an in-home behavioral interventionist and as a paraeducator in a variety of special education classrooms and therapeutic learning centers. Destiny’s occupational and educational experience has led her to explore new ways to enhance current behavioral parent training programs, to increase both treatment adherence and clinical outcomes. More recently, Destiny’s current involvement in a communication training study involving NICU nurses has inspired her to draw from empirically derived training programs to promote more compassionate care and therapeutic communication in the field of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) for both behavioral analysts and parents as they interact with one another and the child. Destiny welcomes opportunities to collaborate and connect & can be reached at dhoerberg@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Damhee "Dee Dee" Hong is a doctoral student working with Dr. Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj. Dee Dee obtained her bachelor's degree in Political Science - International Relations from UC San Diego, and her master's degree in Higher Education Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. Prior to starting at Gevirtz School of Education, Dee Dee worked as an English teacher in South Korea, a Peace Corps volunteer in Indonesia, an International Student Services Specialist at Santa Monica College, and a Conduct Coordinator at University of Hawai'i at Manoa. These experiences in various sectors of education led Dee Dee to her current research interests in the interaction between culture and education policy and in minoritized students' pathways to higher education. Dee Dee can be reached at damhee@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Honeiah Karimi is a doctoral student in Education with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences. She is co-advised by Dr. Andrew Maul and Dr. Diana Arya. Her research interests include data science, QuantCrit, and language learning in Virtual Reality. Currently, Honeiah works as an Applied Data and Research Fellow for Common App. Honeiah can be reached at hkarimi@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Haewon Kim is a doctoral student in the Department of Education working with Dr. Jin Sook Lee. She received her B.A. in Elementary School Education from Gyeongin National University of Education and an M.A. in English Education from Seoul National University. Prior to coming to UCSB she worked as an elementary school teacher in South Korea. She also served as a graduate instructor in SKILLS (School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society). Her current research interests lie in bilingual education, heritage language speakers, and applied linguistics. She can be reached at haewon_kim@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Ann Wai-Yee Kwong is a Ph.D. student in the education program with the emphasis of Special Education, Disabilities, and Risk Studies advised by Dr. Wang. She received her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education from UC Berkeley as a Gates Millennium scholar. Prior to her attendance at UC Santa Barbara, she worked as an education technician intern in Washington DC disaggregating student suicidality data and analyzing its negative impact on both student and school excellence. Ann testified at the U.S. Senate hearing in 2014 to advocate for herself and others, informing policy makers of the attitudinal and tangible societal barriers which limit the potentials of people with disabilities. Her research interests include: creation of innovative workforce development curriculum for transition age youth with disabilities, self-determination, and cultural implications of professional and family partnerships. She is currently collaborating with UCP Work Inc. on designing and implementing curricula to increase competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities and their families; she recently concluded a project with the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) on implications of cultural reciprocity with the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and pre-employment transition services. In addition, Ann co-founded Survive or Thrive where she designs and facilitates workshops as well as mentors youth with disabilities and their families. In a professional capacity, she also serves on various boards including the California Department of Rehabilitation's Advisory Committee and the Association on Higher Education and Disability. Through her research and advocacy, Ann hopes to continue empowering others to envision, define, and achieve their future aspirations. She can be reached at: akwong@education.ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Somer Ayala Levine is a doctoral student focusing her research in critical reading instruction and assessment, and family literacy in Latinx school communities. She is advised by Dr. Diana Arya and Dr. Karen Lunsford. Somer is a first-gen college student, the only teacher in her family, and the first in her family to pursue a doctoral degree. She earned a B.A. in English and Spanish minor from UC Santa Barbara (2006), an M.A. in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University (2008), and an Ed.M. in Reading Education from Boston University (2012). Somer holds a Reading Specialist credential, single subject credential in English, a Bilingual Authorization in Spanish, and a Preliminary Administrative Services credential. For 14 years, Somer enjoyed various teaching roles in Title I public schools. Somer is currently a Visiting Instructor of Teaching & Director of Clinical Practice in the Teacher Education Division at Pepperdine University. Somer’s family is her pride and joy. She and her husband are parents to two young children and one bearded dragon. Somer welcomes your email at somerlevine@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Robin Lilly is a Ph.D. student interested in the role schools play in human flourishing. Her particular interest is in the intersection between teacher well-being and student well-being and how professional development experiences may support teachers as they create conditions that help all students thrive holistically. Philosophical as well as practical questions about learning, writing, equity, measurement, mindfulness, compassion, and engagement keep her working full-time as a learning and development coordinator for a network of charter schools while she attends school full-time and is a full-time mom to two children. A recovering perfectionist, Robin is practicing the art of “good enough” so that meditation, exercise, and sleep are also prioritized. Feel free to reach out for a walking discussion; she values personal connection and the perspectives of her peers. Some personal, professional and intermittent writing can be read at robinlilly.edublogs.org, and she loves to receive feedback so please reach out via comments or email to robinlilly@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Yixin Lin is a doctoral student with an emphasis in Special Education working with Dr. Mian Wang. She received her B.A. in Business Administration from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China. In the meantime, she worked as a volunteer teacher in a special education school for three years. Then she received an M.S. from Columbia University in Social Work. During her graduate study, she also worked as an intern in Hamilton-Madison House Childcare Center and the Association to Benefit Children in New York.  Her research interests include: autism ,developmental delay, inclusive education in both United States and China, and cross-cultural special education. Though her research interests are relatively broad, she is currently involved in research about an autism app design with her advisor. Her longer term research purpose is to further study on inclusive education of children with autism and developmental delay. Yixin can be reached at yixinlin@umail.ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Diana Magaña is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara with an emphasis in Culture and Development; her advisor is Dr. Laura Romo. Diana received a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Education Sciences from UC Irvine and an M.A. in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She was an Administrative Assistant for a TRIO Upward Bound program for a year prior to coming to UCSB. Her research interests largely revolve around the postsecondary experiences of first-generation Latinx college students, with a specific focus on understanding the relationship between social and institutional influences and the postsecondary experiences of historically marginalized students. She seeks to understand how systems of support, whether they be social or institutional, influence the postsecondary experiences of first-generation Latina/o/x students and their eventual success. Her current research focuses on the relationships between first-generation Latina students and their parents and the manner in which manifestations of familial support arise and play a role in undergraduate postsecondary optimism and persistence. Diana can be reached at: dmagana@ucsb.edu

Desirae Martinez Maier is a doctoral student with an emphasis in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies. She is advised by Dr. Andrew Fedders and Dr. Mian Wang. After receiving her Education Specialist Credential and M.Ed. from UCSB, Desirae worked as a special education teacher for five years in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. Desirae has research interests in teacher education and in supporting strong family-professional partnerships in special education. She currently works as a supervisor for the UCSB Teacher Education Program supporting teacher candidates pursuing their extensive support needs education specialist credential.

Donnie McNish is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara with an emphasis in STEM education. His advisor is Julie Bianchini. His particular areas of interest are related to how teachers and students work collaboratively in the digital environment and how changes to education technology shape students experiences in science class, particularly students from traditionally underserved communities. He is also interested in teacher education and the changes to professional training and development within science education in the 21st century. Prior to coming to UCSB, Donnie worked as a high school Chemistry and Physics teacher in Los Angeles. He has a BA and MA in Geoscience from Cal. State Northridge as well as a Master's in Science Education from CSUN as well. He can be reached via email at dwmcnish@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Monica Mendoza is an American Latina Ph.D. student, specializing in mathematics education. She enjoys researching higher education mathematics teaching and learning and spatial visualization, mentoring undergraduate student research, and working towards school-work-life balance along with her husband and 3 children. Inspired by several mentors and advisors, she aims to continue their shared work and legacy in creating opportunities for diversity within the mathematics and education communities. She is the 2019 recipient of the NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) HSI Alliance fellowship. Monica can be reached by e: monica.mendoza@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Ali Muller is a doctoral student working with Dr. Danielle Harlow. She received her B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona in 2017. She has worked with informal science institutions for the past 9 years, including The Chandler Museum, Tucson Children's Museum and Biosphere 2. Currently, her current research interests are diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) efforts of informal learning institutions across the United States. Her dissertation looks at senior leadership visions and implementation efforts of DEAI work and how that leadership vision is perceived and implemented across the hierarchical organizational structure of science museums. She also studies facilitator training and curriculum development within informal science environments as well as how community-partnership research can be leveraged to  benefit the local community. She would love to receive emails at almuller@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).  For more information about current projects and interests, please visit alexandriamuller.com. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandria-ali-muller-b6134084/(link is external) and almuller@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Caitlin Ng is a doctoral student interested in transfer student success, and the phenomenon known as "transfer-shock." Her advisor is Dr. Tarek Azzam, and she aspires to examine how higher education policies impact transfer student experiences. Prior to coming to UCSB, Caitlin earned her B.A. in Sociology with an Emphasis in Science and Medicine from UC San Diego. There, she completed an honors thesis on transfer students, inspired by the challenges she noticed as a board member for UC San Diego's All-Campus Transfer Association. Additional research that Caitlin has collaborated on focuses on Asian American college student activism with Dr.Samuel Museus, Director of the National Institute for Transformation and Equity. She can best be reached at caitlinng@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail) or her LinkedIn.

Royce Olarte is a Ph.D. candidate with a research emphasis in Mathematics Education. He is working with Dr. Sarah Roberts and broadly, his research interests are in postsecondary mathematics education, professional identity development of graduate students, and equity in higher education. Royce received his BS in Mathematics from La Sierra University in 2017, MS in Mathematics for Teachers from Portland State University in 2018, and MA in Education from UCSB in 2022. Prior to attending UCSB, Royce was an adjunct mathematics professor, primarily teaching courses in pre-calculus, calculus, and data science. Please don't hesitate to contact him! He can be reached at tolarte@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Kaitlynn Penner is a doctoral student with an emphasis in Special Education, Disability, and Risk studies, under the guidance of Dr. George Singer. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a clinician at the Koegel Autism Center where she works with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families.  Her research interests include improving the cultural relevance of interventions for children with ASD, improving accessibility of evidence-based practices to underserved populations, particularly on an international level, and neurodiversity and increasing the use of the autistic perspective in improving interventions. She is currently leading a project that combines the positive strategies of multiple intervention models to better support young children with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders in the preschool setting. Kaitlynn can be reached at kpenner@ucsb.edu

Daniel Rios Arroyo is a doctoral student focusing his research on social and educational justice in K-12 through the higher education pipeline; his advisor is Dr. Richard Duran. Daniel earned his B.A. in Sociology with Education studies minor from UC Los Angeles. His current research focuses on Latina/Latino students' transition from high school to college with a primary interest in Latina/Latino English language learners' educational experiences. As a graduate student, Daniel has gained teaching experience by being a TA in the Black Studies Department and the Spanish department. Daniel is also involved with SKILLS (School Kids investigating Language in Life and Society) as an instructor teaching high school English language learners. Daniel has also joined  UCSB's Promise Scholars program as a Time Management Associate. Daniel can be reached by email at: Driosarroyo@ucsb.edu

María Guadalupe Romo-González is a doctoral student with an emphasis in Policy, Program Evaluation, and Research Methods; she is advised by Dr. Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj. María obtained her B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley, where she minored in Chicanx/Latinx studies and public policy. Prior to coming to GGSE, María had the opportunity to work with the PUENTE Project and New America, where she conducted research on higher education policies and practices. Broadly, she is interested in the experiences of immigrant and immigrant-origin students and families navigating the U.S. education system. She can be reached at mgromo-gonzalez@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

David Sañosa is a doctoral student emphasizing in Learning, Culture, and Technology under the advisory of Dr. Richard Durán and is broadly interested in the research and development of technology-based learning environments and strategies. He received his B.S. in Biopsychology from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UCSB where he assisted investigations in the use of virtual models for chemistry education. He has also worked as a research assistant on validity studies for NAEP digitally based science assessments and as a developer at a virtual reality software company located in downtown Santa Barbara. He currently assists makerspace activities at a local teen center where he has worked with youth in constructing creative projects using digital and electronic platforms such as Scratch and Arduino. His current research interests focus on the use of technology to engage youth in processes such as computer programming and digital music production (and by sheer coincidence, he enjoys these activities in his personal time). In addition, he is currently developing an application for Scratch-like visual programming within an immersive virtual reality environment. Email: dsanosa@education.ucsb.edu

Matthew Shackley is a fourth year doctoral student in Education, working with Dr. Julie Bianchini and pursuing emphases in Science Education and Cognitive Science. He received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2014 and a M.S. in Teaching and Learning from Colorado State University in 2017. Prior to entering the graduate program at GGSE, Matthew taught middle school science in Las Vegas, Nevada. His research interrogates how students' socially and culturally developed identities influence scientific literacy, particularly as it relates to controversial or politicized issues. This work also looks at the role teachers and their beliefs play in (re)constructing these identities. Matthew also teaches courses on child and adolescent development in UCSB Teacher Education Program. You can find more information on his work at matthewshackley.com. He also welcomes email correspondence at: shackley@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Ron Skinner is a doctoral student in STEM education working with Dr. Danielle Harlow. His research focuses on how people utilize STEM practices (e.g., making observations, asking questions, testing ideas, supporting claims with evidence) to support critical thinking and problem-solving in informal learning settings. He applies this research to develop facilitation methods and training programs for informal educators to engage diverse audiences in using STEM practices in science learning, engineering design challenges, and climate change dialogue. Most recently, Ron was the director of education at MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation. He has also worked as an engineer, a research scientist, an organic farmer, and a teacher in both formal and informal settings. He holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and an M.S. in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. Contact Ron at ronskinner@ucsb.edu.

Jing Su is a doctoral student in education working with Dr. Mian Wang and a Chancellor's Fellow at UCSB. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in Accounting and Finance concentration from Purdue University and a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar. Jing holds a national teaching credential in China, and has been a volunteer teacher in different parts of China and a leader of a youth development program in both China and the U.S. For her master’s thesis, Jing conducted a study on migrant children’s education in Beijing that confirmed her passion in promoting educational equity through bridging research and practice. Jing is currently a graduate student researcher and a teaching assistant at UCSB. Jing’s research interests include special and inclusive education, student mental health and well-being, parent-child interactions, family-school-community collaboration, and program evaluation. Jing can be reached at jingsu@ucsb.edu.

Sabiha Sultana is a doctoral student focusing her research in critical reading assessments under the guidance of Dr. Diana J. Arya and Dr. Andrew Maul. She earned her B.Ed. (Honors) from University of Dhaka in Language Education. She later received her M.Ed. in Bilingual/English as a Second Language/Multicultural concentration from University of Massachusetts, Amherst as a Fulbright scholar. Being an education civil servant, she served as a faculty of education at the Government Teachers’ Training College Mymensingh, Bangladesh and at the education team of a2i programme, Government of Bangladesh. As a graduate student, Sabiha is currently working as the assessment development and analytic coordinator at Community Based Literacies to contribute to the development of a more culturally inclusive and relevant assessment approach that will benefit school communities and the children that they serve. Her research interests encompass educational assessments; multiliteracies; ESL/EFL; critical media literacy; technology embedded curriculum and instructions; multimodal pedagogies for reading and writing; and teachers' professional development. She can be reached at ssultana@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail) and her publications are available here.

Jackie Valenzuela (She/Her | Ella) is a doctoral student specializing in Culture and Development; her advisor is Dr. Rebeca Mireles-Rios. Jackie received her B.S in Statistics and Data Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research interests include community college transfer and first-generation college student experience, underrepresented minority students in STEM education, and quantitative methods. Feel free to contact Jackie at: j_valenzuela@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Frances Valinsky is a doctoral student in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education under the advisement of Dr. Richard Duran. She earned her B.S. in Early Childhood and Childhood Education with a concentration in Human Development from SUNY Geneseo in 2019. Her research interests broadly focus on learning and identity building in informal education settings, as well as successful pathways to/in higher education for first generation students. Currently, she is the site coordinator at St. George Youth Center working with our undergraduates and the teens in Isla Vista. She is also a Graduate Assistant in the Dean of Students office and will be a TA in our Teacher Education Program this year. Frances can be reached at fvalinsky@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Yessica Vazquez Arroyo is a MA student with research interests pertaining to the academic experiences of students from underserved communities, specifically analyzing college going rates and rates of academic retention. Her faculty advisor is Dr. Rebeca Mireles-Rios. Yessica was born in Santa Barbara, CA and earned her BA degree in Sociology from UCLA. Shortly after graduating, she joined the Gaucho family as an admissions counselor in the Office of Admissions, where she worked for 5 years before moving on to the College of Letters and Science Academic Advising office, where she now advises undergraduates on the pre-health track. Outside of work, she also campaigns for and volunteers as a mentor for children and teens in local United Way programs. Yessica also loves music and partakes in multiple musical and dance activities in the community. When she is not making or dancing to music, she loves to spend quality time with her toddler and husband. Yessica can be reached at yessicavazquez@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Chang Wang is a graduate student in the Department of Education with an emphasis in Culture and Development, under the guidance of Dr. Rebeca Mireles Rios. Her research interests include peer influence and study motivation. Chang earned her B.A. in two majors: psychology and Chinese literature from Beijing, China in 2020. During her undergraduate studies, she has been researching the influence of peer groups on college students’ learning motivation, and the research results based on China gave her a lot of inspiration and thoughts to go into this topic and explore it in-depth. Chang can be reached at: changwang@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail)

Mallory Woods is an M.A./Ph.D. student, advised by Dr. Kyratzis, focused on bilingual education and language socialization in preschool-aged students. Before coming to UCSB, Mallory majored in Spanish-English translation studies at Kent State University, where she studied abroad in five countries and earned a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate. She was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Riobamba, Ecuador, at the Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo for the 2022-2023 academic year. Mallory's research interests include supporting heritage language speakers and understanding how peer interactions contribute to literacy development. She can be reached at mallorywoods@ucsb.edu.

Ye Yuan is a doctoral student working with Dr. Jin Sook Lee and Dr. Amy Kyratzis. She earned her B.A. in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Beijing Language and Culture University in China, and her M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Southern California. Ye is also a certified Montessori teacher. Before attending UCSB, she worked as a bilingual preschool teacher for two years. Currently, her research interests lie in bilingualism, heritage language maintenance, second/foreign language acquisition, and the use of technology in language learning. Ye would love to receive emails at yuan309@ucsb.edu(link sends e-mail).

Hui Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate focusing on special education and disability studies. As a special education researcher, a former law practitioner, and the mother of a child with autism, her primary scholarly focus is to advance educational equity and foster family-centered and community-based special education services. Besides that, she also engaged in critical explorations into K-12 and societal structures that impact underrepresented populations. Hui is under the supervision of Professor Diana J. Arya.