Meet CSUN's CDIP Fellows
Get to know CDIP fellows working with a faculty mentor at CSUN!
Learn more about all CDIP fellows
The 2024 to 2025 cohort will be announced in Summer 2024.
Analine Aguayo
Program: Biological Sciences, UC San Diego
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maria Elena de Bellard, Biology
Analine graduated from CSUN with her Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego. Her thesis work in the Neal Lab focuses on understanding the link between cell protein quality-control mechanisms and lipid homeostasis. Specifically, Analine uses biochemistry and yeast genetics to understand how ER membrane rhomboid proteins interact with sphingolipid biosynthetic enzymes. At UCSD, Analine also focuses on supporting undergraduate students with professional, academic, and community support in her role as a Graduate Learning Specialist at the Raza Resource Centro. She is also a recipient of the Howard Hughes Medical Institution Gilliam Award.
Hannah Cogswell
Program: Sociology, Northwestern University
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lauren McDonald, Sociology
Hannah graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, and is currently a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the sociology department at Northwestern University. Her work focuses on how students lacking supportive ties with kin and caretakers navigate and finance higher education. At Northwestern University, Hannah serves as a mentor for undergraduate students and was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
Nallely de la Rosa
Program: Psychology; Social Psychology, New York University
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Debbie Ma, Psychology
Nallely received her Bachelor of Arts in Child and Adolescent Development with a focus in Applied Developmental Science from CSUN in 2023. During her time as an undergraduate, she conducted research as a National Institute of Health Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research (NIH BUILD PODER) Scholar in Dr. Debbie Ma’s Psychology Research Lab and Dr. Rika Meyer’s CATCH Lab. Following her previous work on mental health equity, Latinx and multiracial face perception, and group categorization, Nallely’s research interests broadly include stereotyping, prejudice, perception, groups, and diversity. Looking ahead to her work in the SPAM Lab, Nallely is interested in exploring how our perceptions of ourselves and others impacts our interactions and decisions.
Felicity Gutierrez
Program: Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado, Psychology
Felicity earned a master's degree in Psychological Science from California State University, Northridge and is a doctoral student in the developmental psychology program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work focuses on historically marginalized college students, particularly Latina first-generation college students. She investigates how their cultural background influences their campus engagement efforts, mental well-being, and sense of self during the college transition.
Kaveh Houshmand Azad
Program: Organizational Change and Leadership program, University of Southern California
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Seung Paik, Business and Economics
Kaveh graduated with master’s degrees in industrial engineering and engineering management, and is currently a student in the USC Doctoral Program in Organizational Change and Leadership. His work focuses on the effectiveness of different Performance Excellence and Quality Management models and their impact on different organizational outcomes and metrics, including staff engagement and innovation. At California State University, Northridge, Kaveh has been teaching Quality Management and Process Improvement courses at the Department of Systems and Operations Management.
Cathrine Johnson
Program: Sociology, University of Miami
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Katherine Lorenz, Criminology
Cathrine graduated from CSUN with a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and justice studies and a Master of Arts in sociology. She is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Miami. Her work concerns how structural institutional processes of intersecting modes of violence and oppression pervade system-involvement, the state of incarceration, and the resulting long-term effects on youth. At CSUN, Cathrine has been a part-time lecturer and a research assistant. She has co-authored four publications, presented research at conferences, and is currently working on her first main author publication draft. She was the recipient of the CSUN Memorial Graduate Thesis/Project Award for Distinguished Thesis Scholarship, a fellow to the Graduate Equity Fellowship, a recipient of the Thesis Research Funding award, and an Honorable Mention recipient to the Award for Outstanding Research Promise.
Nidah Mohammed
Program: Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stefanie Drew, Psychology
Nidah graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a major in psychology and a minor in literature and is currently in a doctoral program in communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work focuses on how technology and media can impact our daily behaviors, decisions, and emotions. Specifically, she utilizes neural measures to investigate how different types of media content can impact choice behaviors related to addictions. At CSUN, she was a part of the Visual Information Sciences and Neuroscience (VISN) research lab and was a recipient of the Outstanding Graduating Student Award.
Marina Perez
Program: Art History, University of New Mexico
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Moshoula Capous-Desyllas, Sociology
Marina is a community educator, cultural worker, and doctoral student in the Art History (Arts of the Americas) Department at the University of New Mexico. Her scholarship addresses the ways community and cultural art-making practices produce embodied knowledge and place-based epistemologies. She builds upon oral history, archival, and indigenous feminist research frameworks to examine the intergenerational cultural exchanges that occur within “urbanized” art spaces. She is a co-founder of Indigenous Honeys, a zine collective dedicated to highlighting the work of indigenous peoples experiences, histories, and stories. Her creative practice includes zine-making, beading, and experimental storytelling. Marina received a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Adolescent Development at California State University, Northridge and is now a CSUN CDIP fellow.
Jullianne Regalado
Program: Criminology, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anastasiia Timmer, Criminology
Jullianne is a doctoral student in criminology at the University of Delaware. She also graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a major in criminology and justice studies. Her research broadly focuses on global and comparative criminology, with specific interests in understanding risk factors for crime and attitudes towards the criminal justice system. At the University of Delaware, she serves in various student leadership roles and is a James Inciardi fellow.
Alden Robison
Program: Communication, UC San Diego
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Peter Marston, Communication
Alden is a doctoral student in Communication at UC San Diego. His research approaches language education and writing program administration in terms of phenomenology, material culture, and critical theory to consider diversity, difference, and institutional change in education spaces. This research is informed by Alden's past experience teaching and tutoring writing at CSUN, which involved working closely with non-traditional and marginalized student populations across the disciplines from the undergraduate to doctoral level. This experience, along with his time as a volunteer grant writer working with unhoused families in Los Angeles County, motivated Alden’s interest in understanding the relationship between space, technology, access, language justice, and agency.
Stephanie Torres-Pantoja
Program: Communication, Ohio State University
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Abraham M. Rutchick, Psychology
Stephanie graduated from California State University, Northridge with a master’s degree in Psychological Science and the Donald Butler Quantitative Research Award. She is currently a Communication Ph.D. student in the Mobile Social Cognition laboratory at Ohio State University. Her current research interests focus on the psychological processes in which people navigate between online and offline social environments. Specifically, she is interested in how social identity (e.g., political identity) influences social learning and cognitive biases in various social environment
Antranik Kirakosian
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Graduated from CSUN with a major in Psychology and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Their work now focuses on research methodology, statistics, math attitudes, and data science in education. Their research seeks to examine math attitudes among different groups of people (e.g., children in primary school, young adults in college, and pre-service teachers). Additionally, they seek to measure the degree of bias that exists among math-attitude measurement tools. Currently at Washington State University (WSU), they are studying for a doctorate in Educational Psychology, training pre-service teachers as part of the teacher training program, and training to be a mixed methods researcher.
Ash Kuhnley
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Graduated from CSUN with a major in Electrical Engineering and is currently a student at the University of Minnesota in Biomedical Engineering. Her work focuses on cardiac electrophysiology, and as a Tau Beta Pi Fellow she is looking to do research related to device-based pacing therapies. While at CSUN, she was a Badge Project and AIMS2 Peer Mentor, President of both engineering honor societies on campus, an internationally elected student governor of IEEE-HKN, and was President and a founding member of Transfer Student Alliance. At the University of Minnesota, Ash is an NIH T32 Trainee as part of their distinguished Cardiovascular Engineering Training Program.
Zak Peete
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Earned his Master's Degree at CSUN where he majored in Psychological Science. His research interest include addiction and houselessness, particularly how the intersectionality of race, gender, and socioeconomic status play a role in these issues. He is pursuing an interdisciplinary and mixed methods PhD program which will enhance his study of these issues and serve to benefit marginalized communities. Zak was a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Sean Pessin
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Has lived in Los Angeles his whole life. He is an interdisciplinary scholar and artist who earned an MFA in writing from Otis College of Art and Design as well as an MA and BA in English from CSU Northridge. He is currently working on a PhD in Information Studies at UCLA. His work examines publishing as a force of knowledge building and dissemination. At CSUN, Sean is a lecturer in the English and Liberal Studies departments. His chapbook, ""Thank You for Listening"" was published by Mindmade Books in 2017; his chapbook ""Three Stories"" was published by Magra Books in 2021. Poems of his have appeared in the experimental publishing project, Poetry from Instructions. A critical article of his on Popular Culture and Makerspace Pedagogy appeared in Integrating Pop Culture into the Academic Library (2022). Sean is an editor-at-large for Magra Books. He is co-editing with Dr. Robert D. Montoya, Crop and Bleed: An Information Studies Reader on New Boundaries in Critical Print and Visual Culture, forthcoming from Litwin Press. His work is always fabulous and strange and queer.
Brian Rivera-Hernandez
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Daniel Saravia
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Graduated with his B.A.in Psychology ('20) and M.A. in Clinical Psychology (research track)('22) from CSUN. He is currently a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at UCLA. Daniel’s program of research centers on reducing disparities in mental health service receipt by 1) developing culturally relevant interventions targeted at mitigating barriers to care and 2) developing culturally informed evidence-based psychotherapy treatments for Latinxs.
Pauline Serrano
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Is pursuing a PhD in school psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is working with Dr. Jill Sharkey. She has an MA in psychological science and a BA in honors psychology with a minor in child and adolescent development from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Serrano is now working as part time faculty in the child and adolescent development department at CSUN after teaching supplemental instruction and lab courses throughout her bachelor's and master's degrees. She is a first-generation college student and an immigrant from the Philippines, raised in a single-parent household. Her program of research focuses on the impact of individual, family, and school factors on the health (mental/physical) and academic success of underserved minority students. Her previous experience as lab coordinator and project manager for CSUN's Transition to College study with Dr. Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado solidified her passion to improve student socio-emotional health, engagement, and academic success in school systems. Serrano's long-term goals are to become a professor and a licensed school psychologist.
Daniel Garcia
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Earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC San Diego and a master’s in Psychological Science from CSUN. His research agenda is focused on the graduation rates of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, BIPOC faculty, the effect of faculty on persistence, racial justice, and organizational change. His current research investigates how BIPOC faculty positively affect BIPOC graduation rates. Daniel's long-term goal is to become a tenure-track professor and produce scholarship that addresses how institutions can implement sustainable policies that recruit BIPOC faculty more purposefully—instead of fluctuating racial equity initiatives.
Kimberly Garcia
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Has been an educator for over 25 years. She completed her undergrad at UCLA and earned her MA at CSUN in Educational Leadership and Policy. In addition to working for LAUSD as an induction mentor, Kimberly also serves as an adjunct professor in the Elementary Education department at CSUN where she focuses on teaching courses connected to English language development, literacy, and social justice.
Kimberly Garcia-Galvez
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Graduated from CSUN with a master’s degree in Sociology and is currently pursuing her PhD in Sociology at UC Merced. Her research primarily focuses on the intersectionality of various forms of social stratification, higher education, social institutions, race, gender, and identity. These areas inspired her current research project on the experiences of women of color faculty members in the higher education labor market. During her time at CSUN, Kimberly was a recipient of the Teaching Assistant Fellowship and the Graduate Equity Fellowship. She also took on the roles of a ISA for the Sociology Department and the HyFlex Program.
Malinda Hackett
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Is a first-generation and returning PhD student in the English department at Claremont Graduate University. She has an MA in English from California State University, Northridge, and a BA in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University. Her research includes post-1800 American Literature and Media with a specific focus on crime, detective, noir, and gothic fictions and how they engage with the environment, indigeneity, raciality, gender, and class. While at CSUN, she served as a teaching associate as well as assistant editor and editorial board member for the CSUN publication Waves: A Collection of Student Essays. She was also the recipient of the Graduate Equity Fellowship, the Dr. Susan Curzon Scholarship, and the CSUN Distinguished Learner Award. At CGU, she served on the graduate student council and as a university student ambassador. In her free time she enjoys movie nights with her daughter, taking her dogs out for long walks, and staring out her apartment window while thinking of new stories to tell.
Richard Ibarra
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Is currently a student in the PhD program in History at UCLA, where he has been a Cota-Robles and UC Office of the President Dissertation Year Fellow. His research interests focus on the construction of community (particularly in urban contexts) and identity, especially the practices that shape varieties of integration and naturalization. He has published articles on the integrative potential of early modern burial practices and the identity claims that permeated medieval tomb sculpture. Articles on the early modern use of family histories in claims to communal membership and charitable practices bridging the Iberian Atlantic are in progress. He has held lecturer appointments in the History Departments of CSUN and CSUSM.
Marilyn Ee
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Graduated from CSUN with a Bachelor of Arts in Animation (2012) and a Master of Arts in Sociology (2016). She is currently a 4th year doctoral student at the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). Her research is primarily quantitative and focuses on communities and crime, often examining macro-level perspectives of crime and utilizing spatial mapping and analyses. Her other interests include situational crime prevention, policy impact evaluation, and community policing. She is passionate about teaching and using innovative pedagogy, and loves working with or mentoring students to help them grow and reach their goals. At SHSU, she has acted as a student advocate in the role of vice president of the Criminal Justice Graduate Student Organization and worked as a doctoral teaching fellow. In both roles, she has served both graduate and undergraduate students in numerous ways.
Edward Flores
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Earned his B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and received his teaching credential in Social Studies from California State University, Northridge. After teaching at LA Unified, he managed a Youth and Parent Leadership program organizing Youth Participatory Action Research projects (YPAR) with teachers and students in Northeast Los Angeles. A significant YPAR project he co-organized was the founding of the Paula Crisostomo Dream Resource Center at Abraham Lincoln high school, which provides resources and services to undocumented students and mixed-status families. Flores is a doctoral candidate in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, where his research focuses on critical consciousness development in high school Ethnic Studies courses. In his spare time, he enjoys running and hiking.
Alejandra Fregozo Vargas
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Is a first-generation college student who graduated from CSUN with a master’s degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies. Alejandra’s passion for educational equity has led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on education and educational pathways for unrepresented students. Alejandra’s research aims to counter the homogenized and “cultural deficiencies” narrative of minoritized students in higher education. Too often, she finds that the literature overlooks the intersectional complexity of minoritized student experiences and oversimplifies or neglects the effects of historical segregation and institutional practices that limit access to opportunities for minoritized groups. Her ultimate objective is to obtain a faculty position in a Hispanic Serving Institution, as it would allow her the opportunity to mentor and guide future generations of diverse scholars.
Detrich Galloway
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Graduated from CSUN with a BS in Public Health and is currently a PhD student in the Anthropology program at the University of California, Riverside. Her research centers maternal and infant health disparities and the study of Antiblackness within the US systems of healthcare. She continues active engagement in research with the HOMME lab, which is part of CSUN's Health Equity and Research Education (HERE) Center and is a recent awardee of the University of California Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship. While attending CSUN, Detrich was a 2020 to 2021 award year recipient of the CSU Sally Casanova Predoctoral Scholar, as well as an awardee of the National Institutes of Health Bridges to the Doctoral Fellowship for the 2021 to 2022 award year.
Sami Alsalloom
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Graduated from CSU Northridge with a dual bachelor’s in music and Honors Psychology. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Education at UC Santa Barbara. He is pursuing interdisciplinary emphases in Quantitative Methods in Social Science and Cognitive Science, as well as a Certificate in College and University Teaching. He is passionate about student success and the study of music cognition. His dissertation research focuses on sense of belonging in underrepresented minority students who participate in community college music ensembles. He is interested in maintaining a research agenda that supports underrepresented minority students at the community college level.
Dianna Alvarado
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Graduated from CSUN in May 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in the Personality and Social Contexts Psychology program. During her tenure at CSUN, Dianna was actively involved in the psychology department's Psi Chi Honors Society, CAPS peer mentoring as well as conducting research through the BUILD PODER program. Dianna's career goal is to return to the CSU system as a culturally-focused psychologist.
Marcela Alvarez
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Graduated from CSUN with a master's degree in Elementary Education, and was honored as the Michael D. Eisner College of Education Outstanding Graduate this past Spring. She is currently a doctoral student in Education at UC Santa Barbara. Her research interests are in dual language education practices through culturally sustaining approaches, like translanguaging. Marcela is CDIP Fellow here at CSUN and is currently a lecturer in the Child and Adolescent Development Department here at CSUN.
Jessica Clifton
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Graduated from CSUN with a masters in curriculum and instruction and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. Jessica is working as an intervention coordinator at a title-1 funded elementary school in LAUSD and a part-time lecturer in the department of elementary education at CSUN. Her research primarily focuses on foundational reading instruction, arts integration and elementary social studies methods. She is also interested in curriculum theory and shifting standardized curriculum to fit all learners which she hopes to study and present at an international educational conference at Oxford in 2023.
LaShonda CarterProgram: Culture & Theory, UC Irvine LaShonda Carter is a doctoral student in the program of Culture & Theory at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests are in political and cultural theory, gender and politics, Black Diasporic Histories, and Black political thought, through interpretative, qualitative, and archival methods. Her dissertation research examines the limitations of the current lynching lexicon using a rhetorical and linguistic analysis and by focusing on Black women to read the abiding effect of lynching violence. She demonstrates that centering Black women in lynching analysis disrupts temporal and spatial theorizations of racialized lynching violence. |
Liam Espinoza-ZemlickaProgram: Anthropology, UC Riverside Liam Espinoza-Zemlicka is a graduate student in Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. His research focuses on the production of Latinx subjects and how Latinx identity manifests itself in the realm of independent comic books from Latinx creators and Latinx-centered comic book conventions. From 2020 to 2021 Liam served as co-president of UC Riverside’s Student Association of Graduate Anthropologists and served on the committee for the Department of Anthropology’s annual James Young Colloquium. He has also done work with the Museum of the San Fernando Valley, curating and consulting on exhibits. Liam completed his BA at California State University Northridge where he was part of the second cohort of the Mellon-funded HSI Pathways to the Professoriate Fellowship. For the last year, Liam as served has a TA for various courses at UC Riverside and is excited at the prospect of one day teaching as a full professor. As a proud graduate of a CSU, Liam hopes to one day serve as a mentor for students like himself and create the kind of classroom environment he enjoyed at CSU Northridge, where the individual needs of students were looked after even in large classes. He is honored to be a part of the Chancellor’s Doctoral Initiative Program. |
Virginia GomezProgram: Gender Studies, Indiana University Bloomington Virginia Gomez is a first-generation Latinx college student born and raised in San Fernando Valley, California. They earned their B.A. in Political Science with a double major in Women’s and Gender Studies at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). At CSUN, Gomez was selected as an HSI Pathways /Mellon Student Fellow and a Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar. Their research Women of Cannabis: Phenomenon of Women in California’s Budding Industry used an interdisciplinary phenomenological approach engaging the San Francisco Public Library Brownie Mary archive and in-depth qualitative interviews with women working in the cannabis industry in 2019. Gomez's research captured how Brownie Mary, and the six individuals interviewed create meaning through their work with cannabis. Currently, their research interests include Science and Technology Studies, Queer of Color Critique, Materiality Studies, Legal Studies, multi-species relations, archives, and plants and fungi. In addition, Gomez was elected as the Fall 2021/ Spring 2022 Gender Studies representative for the Graduate & Professional Student Government at IUB. They hope to someday serve as a point of connection and possible intervention for CSU students of color, first-generation college students, and those students who feel outside of their comfort zone in an academic setting, the way that professors at CSUN have done for them. |
L. Christine Hirst BernhartProgram: STEM Education, UCSB Christine Hirst Bernhardt is a passionate STEM educator and teacher leader from Southern California. She has taught STEM and astronomy in the Hart District, College of the Canyons and NASA’s Endeavor STEM Leadership program. Christine has won numerous accolades including the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, 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, an elite fellowship of doctoral students seeking to improve the caliber of teacher education. Christine is the lead for the United States 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 and Social Justice. Christine hopes to continue to advance innovative education as a professor in a Cal State. |
Brittney JimenezProgram: Latin American and Latino Studies Program, UC Santa Cruz Brittney Jimenez is a first year Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz in their Latin American and Latino Studies Program. She has a Master's from California State University Northridge in Chicana and Chicano Studies, where she completed her thesis on youth activism in the San Fernando Valley. For her doctoral work, she intends to continue her research on the social movements track, and work with youth activists across the Americas. Her work seeks to understand the ongoing social conflicts that impact youth. In the long term she hopes to become a Professor in Ethnic Studies. |
Sarah MarksProgram: Psychology, Rutgers |
Nelly MaroutyanProgram: Linguistics, USC Nelli did her BA (major: English, minor: Spanish) in Armenia. She obtained an MA at California State University, Northridge. Nelli’s research interests are mainly in Syntax. She is also interested in syntax-semantics interface, and in Morphology to the extent that it relates to Syntactic derivation. Nelli’s experience at CSUN was not limited to academic advancement in her major, but was an exciting journey of natural integration into the campus life. She worked for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies and was actively involved in the organization of different research-oriented events for graduate students. Nelli’s desire to have an ongoing participation in CSU mission was the major motivation for applying to the Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program. |
Brian MercadoProgram: Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center Brian Mercado (he/him/his) is a Chicano and a second-generation immigrant, the son of immigrants from México. His research interests address how policing, disciplining, and surveillance capabilities in schools are normalized, legitimized, and taken on by non-police actors such as educators, administrators, staff, social workers, and security guards. His current research explores how immigrant students navigate, claim, and reclaim spaces in and around their schools against the surveillance and policing they face in these settings. He is interested in employing Participatory Action Research and visual methods approaches in his dissertation, for which he is pursuing a concentration in Qualitative Research Methods. Brian previously served as the coordinator and administrative director of the City University of New York Pipeline Fellowship Program, a CUNY-wide initiative designed to provide support to undergraduates from historically marginalized groups who are interested in pursuing a PhD. He has taught open educational resource courses as an adjunct faculty member in the Sociology Departments at Hunter College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. During his doctoral studies at The Graduate Center, Brian attained an en-route master’s degree from The City College of New York. He completed his bachelor's degree in Sociology at California State University, Northridge in Spring 2018. |
Yaquelin MoralesProgram: Performance Studies, Northwestern Yaquelin is a Latinx PhD student in Northwestern's Performance Studies. Their work focuses on Latinx cultural production, specifically exploring the ways in which Latinas in Los Angeles deploy Chonga and Chunti aesthetics as embodied practices of refusal, erasure, and cultural identity. Their work is inspired by their community in the San Fernando Valley, where a blend of Central American and Mexican cultures have been influential in the way young womyn have curated their unique style. They completed their undergrad at California State University, Northridge after transferring from Los Angeles Mission College. Their long-term goal is to return to their community as an educator and make art as research accessible beyond just the institution. |
Dani MurilloProgram: Sociology, University of Massachusetts Dani earned his B.A. in Sociology at California State University, Northridge. Dani is interested in creating research that uses community-based methods to empower people living with HIV. His work aims to provide a platform that highlights the lived expereinces of his participants with the goal to create meaningful dialogues and social change within communities living with HIV. Dani’s previous research centers the lived experiences of gay men of color living with HIV in Los Angeles. The findings show how participants manage multiple stigmas, engage in meaningful interpersonal relationships, and find transformative meaning in their HIV status. Dani next research project is an enthographic study of HIV/AIDS service providers in Western Massachusetts informed by intersectionality theory. It is a critical analysis of the systems of domination that intersect along class, gender, and racial lines which create unique challenges for people living with HIV based on their positionalities. Dani’s teaching philosophies center anti-racist, critical feminist pedogogies that empower students to engage in consciousness-raising dialogues about oppressive power structures, systematic racism, and gender-based patriarchy. Drawing from arts-based pedogogies and in-class dramaturgical activities, Dani’s goal is to teach the diverse students in the CSU system to be lifelong learners and critical thinkers who use their voice for social justice and social change. |
Luis Paz de la VegaProgram: Psychology, UC Merced Luis is a first-year developmental psychology doctoral student at the University of California- Merced. He is a first-generation college student and an immigrant originating from Peru. Luis completed his B.A. in Psychology at California State University-Northridge. As an undergraduate, Luis was advised by Dr. Gabriela Chavira and studied Latinx adolescents and their successful transitions into adulthood. Luis received his Master’s in Psychological Sciences from California State University-Northridge while being advised by Dr. Mark Otten. His thesis focused on the transition to college for minoritized retired high school athletes. As a graduate student at CSU- Northridge, Luis worked at the Community for Achievement in Psychological Sciences (CAPS) and mentored undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate degrees. He was also part of the Teacher Intern Program (TIPs) where he was the instructor of record of an Introductory Psychology course. Luis’ current research project is focusing on the effects of familial obligations on the overall wellbeing of Latinx youth in college. After completing his doctoral program, Luis hopes to return to a CSU to provide mentorship to other ethnic minoritized students and conduct interventional research in underserved communities. |
Dalton PenaProgram: Health Administration, University of Alabama Dalton Pena is a CDIP Fellow attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in a program for PhD students in Administration-Health Services focused on Informatics. Dalton hails from CSUN where he completed a BS and MS in Health Administration receiving accolades at both graduations and scholarship recognition which resulted from his academic standing, commitment, and additional work through field research. His scholarship awards have included Outstanding Student Veteran, Distinguished Lifelong Learner, and the Nathan O. Freedman Award for Outstanding Graduate Student. Dalton maintains a full academic workload at UAB, while also participating as a research fellow with his UAB mentor specifically focused on the area of health informatics. Recently, he was nominated to represent UAB as Student Liaison of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for the Alabama Chapter. He also continues to collaborate with his CSUN faculty mentor to build his research portfolio around data analytics and teaching pedagogy and continues his involvement as a CSUN Health Administration panelist in discussions for undergraduates and graduates. |
Genesis PiaProgram: Sociology, Rutgers |
Kenia RodriguezProgram: English Literature, University of Connecticut Kenia Rodriguez is a first year PhD student in English at the University of Connecticut. She is interested in the ways literary scholars can use computational tools and methods to make claims about the depiction of gender in contemporary young adult literature written by Latine authors. Kenia earned her BA in English in 2019 at California State University, Northridge, where she hopes to be able to return to one day as both a children's literature professor as well as a digital humanist. |
Rana SharifProgram: Comparative Literature and Languages, UC Riverside Professor Rana Sharif is a researcher, educator, and long-time community organizer. She is currently a California State University Doctoral Incentive Fellow, here, at CSUN where she teaches courses in the departments of Communication and Gender Studies. She is completing her doctoral work at the University of California, Riverside in Comparative Literature and Languages. Her research focuses on new and digital media's possibilities for producing decolonial legitimacies for marginalized communities, putting into conversation Palestinian and Black liberatory subjectivities. She currently serves as the VP of the union board for the ACLU of Southern California and previously held an elected position with the City of Los Angeles' local Neighborhood Council. She is a collective member for SWANA Region Radio, hosting and producing shows for KPFK 90.7 fm. |
Yadira TejadaProgram: Social Work, Washington University, St Louis Yadira was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Yadira earned her BA in sociology and Master’s in Social Work from California State University, Northridge. Yadira is continuing her studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research interests include Latinx family dynamics and child welfare. |
Information on 2020 to 2021 cohort coming soon.
Information on CSUN's CDIP Alumni coming soon.
Antranik Kirakosian
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Graduated from CSUN with a major in Psychology and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Their work now focuses on research methodology, statistics, math attitudes, and data science in education. Their research seeks to examine math attitudes among different groups of people (e.g., children in primary school, young adults in college, and pre-service teachers). Additionally, they seek to measure the degree of bias that exists among math-attitude measurement tools. Currently at Washington State University (WSU), they are studying for a doctorate in Educational Psychology, training pre-service teachers as part of the teacher training program, and training to be a mixed methods researcher.
Ash Kuhnley
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Graduated from CSUN with a major in Electrical Engineering and is currently a student at the University of Minnesota in Biomedical Engineering. Her work focuses on cardiac electrophysiology, and as a Tau Beta Pi Fellow she is looking to do research related to device-based pacing therapies. While at CSUN, she was a Badge Project and AIMS2 Peer Mentor, President of both engineering honor societies on campus, an internationally elected student governor of IEEE-HKN, and was President and a founding member of Transfer Student Alliance. At the University of Minnesota, Ash is an NIH T32 Trainee as part of their distinguished Cardiovascular Engineering Training Program.
Zak Peete
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Earned his Master's Degree at CSUN where he majored in Psychological Science. His research interest include addiction and houselessness, particularly how the intersectionality of race, gender, and socioeconomic status play a role in these issues. He is pursuing an interdisciplinary and mixed methods PhD program which will enhance his study of these issues and serve to benefit marginalized communities. Zak was a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Sean Pessin
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Has lived in Los Angeles his whole life. He is an interdisciplinary scholar and artist who earned an MFA in writing from Otis College of Art and Design as well as an MA and BA in English from CSU Northridge. He is currently working on a PhD in Information Studies at UCLA. His work examines publishing as a force of knowledge building and dissemination. At CSUN, Sean is a lecturer in the English and Liberal Studies departments. His chapbook, ""Thank You for Listening"" was published by Mindmade Books in 2017; his chapbook ""Three Stories"" was published by Magra Books in 2021. Poems of his have appeared in the experimental publishing project, Poetry from Instructions. A critical article of his on Popular Culture and Makerspace Pedagogy appeared in Integrating Pop Culture into the Academic Library (2022). Sean is an editor-at-large for Magra Books. He is co-editing with Dr. Robert D. Montoya, Crop and Bleed: An Information Studies Reader on New Boundaries in Critical Print and Visual Culture, forthcoming from Litwin Press. His work is always fabulous and strange and queer.
Brian Rivera-Hernandez
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Daniel Saravia
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Graduated with his B.A.in Psychology ('20) and M.A. in Clinical Psychology (research track)('22) from CSUN. He is currently a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at UCLA. Daniel’s program of research centers on reducing disparities in mental health service receipt by 1) developing culturally relevant interventions targeted at mitigating barriers to care and 2) developing culturally informed evidence-based psychotherapy treatments for Latinxs.
Pauline Serrano
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Is pursuing a PhD in school psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is working with Dr. Jill Sharkey. She has an MA in psychological science and a BA in honors psychology with a minor in child and adolescent development from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Serrano is now working as part time faculty in the child and adolescent development department at CSUN after teaching supplemental instruction and lab courses throughout her bachelor's and master's degrees. She is a first-generation college student and an immigrant from the Philippines, raised in a single-parent household. Her program of research focuses on the impact of individual, family, and school factors on the health (mental/physical) and academic success of underserved minority students. Her previous experience as lab coordinator and project manager for CSUN's Transition to College study with Dr. Yolanda Vasquez-Salgado solidified her passion to improve student socio-emotional health, engagement, and academic success in school systems. Serrano's long-term goals are to become a professor and a licensed school psychologist.
Daniel Garcia
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Earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC San Diego and a master’s in Psychological Science from CSUN. His research agenda is focused on the graduation rates of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, BIPOC faculty, the effect of faculty on persistence, racial justice, and organizational change. His current research investigates how BIPOC faculty positively affect BIPOC graduation rates. Daniel's long-term goal is to become a tenure-track professor and produce scholarship that addresses how institutions can implement sustainable policies that recruit BIPOC faculty more purposefully—instead of fluctuating racial equity initiatives.
Kimberly Garcia
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Has been an educator for over 25 years. She completed her undergrad at UCLA and earned her MA at CSUN in Educational Leadership and Policy. In addition to working for LAUSD as an induction mentor, Kimberly also serves as an adjunct professor in the Elementary Education department at CSUN where she focuses on teaching courses connected to English language development, literacy, and social justice.
Kimberly Garcia-Galvez
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Graduated from CSUN with a master’s degree in Sociology and is currently pursuing her PhD in Sociology at UC Merced. Her research primarily focuses on the intersectionality of various forms of social stratification, higher education, social institutions, race, gender, and identity. These areas inspired her current research project on the experiences of women of color faculty members in the higher education labor market. During her time at CSUN, Kimberly was a recipient of the Teaching Assistant Fellowship and the Graduate Equity Fellowship. She also took on the roles of a ISA for the Sociology Department and the HyFlex Program.
Malinda Hackett
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Is a first-generation and returning PhD student in the English department at Claremont Graduate University. She has an MA in English from California State University, Northridge, and a BA in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University. Her research includes post-1800 American Literature and Media with a specific focus on crime, detective, noir, and gothic fictions and how they engage with the environment, indigeneity, raciality, gender, and class. While at CSUN, she served as a teaching associate as well as assistant editor and editorial board member for the CSUN publication Waves: A Collection of Student Essays. She was also the recipient of the Graduate Equity Fellowship, the Dr. Susan Curzon Scholarship, and the CSUN Distinguished Learner Award. At CGU, she served on the graduate student council and as a university student ambassador. In her free time she enjoys movie nights with her daughter, taking her dogs out for long walks, and staring out her apartment window while thinking of new stories to tell.
Richard Ibarra
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Is currently a student in the PhD program in History at UCLA, where he has been a Cota-Robles and UC Office of the President Dissertation Year Fellow. His research interests focus on the construction of community (particularly in urban contexts) and identity, especially the practices that shape varieties of integration and naturalization. He has published articles on the integrative potential of early modern burial practices and the identity claims that permeated medieval tomb sculpture. Articles on the early modern use of family histories in claims to communal membership and charitable practices bridging the Iberian Atlantic are in progress. He has held lecturer appointments in the History Departments of CSUN and CSUSM.
Marilyn Ee
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Graduated from CSUN with a Bachelor of Arts in Animation (2012) and a Master of Arts in Sociology (2016). She is currently a 4th year doctoral student at the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). Her research is primarily quantitative and focuses on communities and crime, often examining macro-level perspectives of crime and utilizing spatial mapping and analyses. Her other interests include situational crime prevention, policy impact evaluation, and community policing. She is passionate about teaching and using innovative pedagogy, and loves working with or mentoring students to help them grow and reach their goals. At SHSU, she has acted as a student advocate in the role of vice president of the Criminal Justice Graduate Student Organization and worked as a doctoral teaching fellow. In both roles, she has served both graduate and undergraduate students in numerous ways.
Edward Flores
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Earned his B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and received his teaching credential in Social Studies from California State University, Northridge. After teaching at LA Unified, he managed a Youth and Parent Leadership program organizing Youth Participatory Action Research projects (YPAR) with teachers and students in Northeast Los Angeles. A significant YPAR project he co-organized was the founding of the Paula Crisostomo Dream Resource Center at Abraham Lincoln high school, which provides resources and services to undocumented students and mixed-status families. Flores is a doctoral candidate in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, where his research focuses on critical consciousness development in high school Ethnic Studies courses. In his spare time, he enjoys running and hiking.
Alejandra Fregozo Vargas
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Is a first-generation college student who graduated from CSUN with a master’s degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies. Alejandra’s passion for educational equity has led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on education and educational pathways for unrepresented students. Alejandra’s research aims to counter the homogenized and “cultural deficiencies” narrative of minoritized students in higher education. Too often, she finds that the literature overlooks the intersectional complexity of minoritized student experiences and oversimplifies or neglects the effects of historical segregation and institutional practices that limit access to opportunities for minoritized groups. Her ultimate objective is to obtain a faculty position in a Hispanic Serving Institution, as it would allow her the opportunity to mentor and guide future generations of diverse scholars.
Detrich Galloway
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Graduated from CSUN with a BS in Public Health and is currently a PhD student in the Anthropology program at the University of California, Riverside. Her research centers maternal and infant health disparities and the study of Antiblackness within the US systems of healthcare. She continues active engagement in research with the HOMME lab, which is part of CSUN's Health Equity and Research Education (HERE) Center and is a recent awardee of the University of California Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship. While attending CSUN, Detrich was a 2020 to 2021 award year recipient of the CSU Sally Casanova Predoctoral Scholar, as well as an awardee of the National Institutes of Health Bridges to the Doctoral Fellowship for the 2021 to 2022 award year.
Sami Alsalloom
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Graduated from CSU Northridge with a dual bachelor’s in music and Honors Psychology. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Education at UC Santa Barbara. He is pursuing interdisciplinary emphases in Quantitative Methods in Social Science and Cognitive Science, as well as a Certificate in College and University Teaching. He is passionate about student success and the study of music cognition. His dissertation research focuses on sense of belonging in underrepresented minority students who participate in community college music ensembles. He is interested in maintaining a research agenda that supports underrepresented minority students at the community college level.
Dianna Alvarado
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Graduated from CSUN in May 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in the Personality and Social Contexts Psychology program. During her tenure at CSUN, Dianna was actively involved in the psychology department's Psi Chi Honors Society, CAPS peer mentoring as well as conducting research through the BUILD PODER program. Dianna's career goal is to return to the CSU system as a culturally-focused psychologist.
Marcela Alvarez
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Graduated from CSUN with a master's degree in Elementary Education, and was honored as the Michael D. Eisner College of Education Outstanding Graduate this past Spring. She is currently a doctoral student in Education at UC Santa Barbara. Her research interests are in dual language education practices through culturally sustaining approaches, like translanguaging. Marcela is CDIP Fellow here at CSUN and is currently a lecturer in the Child and Adolescent Development Department here at CSUN.
Jessica Clifton
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Graduated from CSUN with a masters in curriculum and instruction and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Louisiana, Monroe. Jessica is working as an intervention coordinator at a title-1 funded elementary school in LAUSD and a part-time lecturer in the department of elementary education at CSUN. Her research primarily focuses on foundational reading instruction, arts integration and elementary social studies methods. She is also interested in curriculum theory and shifting standardized curriculum to fit all learners which she hopes to study and present at an international educational conference at Oxford in 2023.