Group Members

Anne Baranger received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, under the direction of Professor Robert Bergman. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University with Professor Alanna Schepartz. Professor Baranger began her independent career focusing in Chemical Biology at Wesleyan University and then continued on to the University of Illinois. At the University of Illinois, she was Associate Head of the Department, Director of Graduate Studies, and was a Chancellor's Fellow in the I-STEM Education Initiative. She joined the University of California, Berkeley, in 2011. She was Director of Undergraduate Chemistry 2011-2020 and Associat Dean in the College of Chemistry from 2020-2025. She is currently Interim Dean of the College of Chemistry. She is a core faculty member in the Graduate Group in Science and Mathematics Education (SESAME) program. She is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education, and the Department of Chemistry Teaching Award. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, bicycling, making jam, and hanging out with her family.

Michelle is a Senior Lecturer in the College of Chemistry and has been co- facilitating the Lecturer Teaching Fellows Program for over 10 years. She also co-facilitated the Faculty Learning Program for Transforming STEM Teaching. Michelle’s teaching mainly focuses on general chemistry laboratory and lecture. She often employs flipped classrooms centered on research questions solved by analytical chemistry approaches. Michelle was part of a team that completely reformed the general chemistry laboratory experience to an award-winning curriculum that teaches green chemistry and sustainability. Michelle also teaches the pedagogy course for first time GSIs in the chemistry department which she designed with a project-based curriculum focusing on inclusive practices. Currently she is part of a multi-institution curriculum reform to help students think of themselves as capable STEM learners. The work is funded through California Online Learning Lab Initiative and involves curriculum student mindset activities and faculty training.

Alexis is a Lecturer in the College of Chemistry. She received her B.A. in chemistry from Brown University and her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, working with Ron Cohen, specializing in atmospheric chemistry. Her teaching focusses on General Chemistry, Preparatory Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry laboratory.

Katie graduated from Smith College in 2017 with a B.A. in Chemistry. She began her graduate studies in chemistry at UC Berkeley that fall, focusing on the total synthesis of natural products. In 2019 she began working with Anne Baranger to study how students with varying levels of expertise solve organic chemistry problems, with the goal of improving the way organic chemistry is taught to undergraduates. She graduated with her Ph.D. in 2022. She teaches the Discovery course to incoming transfer students and organic chemistryc courses. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, and hanging out with her cat.   

Laleh received her A.S. and A.A. from Laney College, B.A. in Biology from San Francisco State University, Master's in Microbiology from UC Berkeley, and Ph.D. in Science and Mathematics Education from UC Berkeley. She has worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) for 18 years, and currently serves as the STEM Education Program Manager with the Workforce Development & Education department. Her work and research relate to how undergraduate students learn about science and STEM careers through science research experiences, teaching and mentoring practices, program evaluation and assessment, and STEM workforce development. She serves as a reviewer for the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and various academic journals (e.g., CBE-LSE, PLOS One).

Sarah Smaga (she/her) is currently the Managing Director at the NSF Center for Genetically Encoded Materials (C-GEM), a $20M Center for Chemical Innovation headquartered at UC Berkeley and led by Professor Alanna Schepartz. Sarah oversees day-to-day operations of the Center, facilitates collaboration, and leads C-GEM's broader impacts activities. Sarah earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale in 2018. From 2018-2020, she was the Coordinating Editor for the ACS journal Biochemistry. Sarah graduated from Michigan State University in 2013 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Abby obtained her B.S. in Chemistry at UT Austin. Where she worked under the supervision of Prof. Emily Que on the synthesis of small fluorescent molecules for the study of metalloenzymes and reactive oxygen species. After graduating in 2020, she began pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. For the beginning of her Ph.D., she worked under the supervision of Prof. Chris Chang on the synthesis of a library of fluorescent probes for the organelle-specific sensing of labile iron. Given her interest in Chemical Education and DEIB, she decided to transition into ChemEd at the end of her second year and is now working with Prof. Anne Baranger. Currently her work focuses on the assessment and development of Chem 49, an adjunct General Chemistry course for incoming College of Chemistry (CoC) majors. Additionally, she is working with a group of undergraduate students to understand the climate and sense of belonging in the CoC, as well as the retention and persistence of historically excluded groups in the CoC. Outside of work she enjoys writing, painting, and climbing.

Anthony obtained his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of California, Merced as a transfer student. He worked in Dr. Son Nguyen's group to research reaction mechanisms involving photocatalysis of metallic nanoparticles. He joined the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley in 2020 to pursue a PhD. At the start of his PhD, Anthony worked with Dr. Kevin Wilson at LBL to study reaction mechanisms and kinetics of microfluidic droplet chemistry. In his third year, Anthony transitioned into ChemEd where he now works with Dr. Anne Baranger. Outside of the lab, Anthony works with the Cal NERDs organization to support and prepare undergraduate students for research experiences and graduate school. He also enjoys reading, gaming, and hockey.  

Deseree obtained her B.S. in Chemistry and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At UW-Madison, she worked in the lab of Prof. Sam Gellman where she studied the secondary structure of foldamers based on terphenyl subunits. After graduating in 2022, Deseree started her PhD in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. She worked in Prof. Richmond Sarpong's lab on the total synthesis of prostaglandins for a semester. Over the course of her first year at UC Berkeley, Deseree realized she had interests in chemical education, DEIB initiatives, and graduate student learning. Because of her interests in ChemEd, Deseree transitioned into Prof. Anne Baranger's group. Over the summer of 2023, she and other College of Chemistry (CoC) members developed and ran an Organic Chemistry Bootcamp for incoming 1st year Chemistry PhDs. She is currently working with Abby on developing and assessing the Chem 39 course, an adjunct general chemistry course for incoming CoC majors. She also helps with the Chemistry Department's annual Climate Survey. Outside of work, Deseree likes to hike, learn languages, and explore Northern California.

Alexandra (Ally) Collard is a first-year PhD student in the Graduate Group in Science and Mathematics Education (SESAME). Ally has Bachelor's degrees in Chemistry and Math from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master's degree in Chemistry from Institut Polytechnique de Paris, where she studied Electrochemistry and Materials Chemistry. Ally also taught high school Chemistry in Colorado, where she worked to develop her skills in inquiry-based teaching. At UC Berkeley, she is now studying Chemistry education, working with Anne Baranger and Marcia Linn's groups. Her research focuses generally on how students learn Chemistry concepts in order to design effective and equitable Chemistry instruction.

Benji Garcia is a 3rd year undergraduate student majoring in Chemistry. He is a member of the CUBS group focusing on designing, implementing, and analyzing the yearly undergraduate CoC climate survey. He co-leads presentations of results to CoC leadership, faculty, and at the yearly CUBS brainstorming session. Benji also co-developed the Scientific Citizenship decal course for undergraduate students. When he's not analyzing survey data or creating presentations, Benji enjoys playing the viola, going on long walks to catch Pokémon, and going to restaurants to try out new foods

Gaby is a third year undergrad majoring in Chemistry. She joined the Baranger Group in August 2022. Gaby works with the CUBS team to develop, administer, analyze, and present the annual CoC undergraduate climate survey. In addition she helps to lead the Scientific Citizenship course for undergraduates. In her free time she likes dancing, listening to podcasts and organizing movie nights with her friends

Aman is a third year undergraduate student perusing a degree in Chemistry. He joined the Baranger Group in Spring 2023 and has been working on the undergraduate Climate and Sense of Belonging Survey for several semesters now -  primary focused on designing, implementing, and analyzing it. Last year, Aman helped implement the first ever Chemistry Undergraduate Brainstorming Session (CUBS), a townhall designed to strengthen existing relationships and facilitate healthy discussions to continue to improve the College of Chemistry with college leadership present. Currently, as a member of the group, he is working on the upcoming survey distribution as a liaison between the teaching faculty and the group. Aman also co-developed the Scientific Citizenship and Responsibility deCal course with Benji and Gaby for undergraduate students, which has been running since Fall 2024. Outside of the lab, Aman enjoys playing tennis, photography, and trying new recipes to feed his friends. He is always excited to listen to new music genres and playing his saxophone.

Joseph grew up in La Habra, CA and is currently pursuing a B.S. in chemical biology. The summer after his freshman year, he worked with Michelle and Prof. Angelica Stacy on the Chem Avengers curriculum. He continues to work with Michelle in the Baranger Group, where he is particularly interested in bridging student outcome inequities through curriculum reform. When he’s not in the lab or stressing about exams, he enjoys figure skating, watching foreign movies, and checking out local flea markets.

Kat is a second year undergraduate majoring in Chemical Biology and minoring in Calteach. She currently investigating learning and mentoring in undergraduate research experiences in the BURET group with Anthony Garcia as her mentor. In her free time she likes to digital scrapbook and read.

Ernesto is a first-generation Latino student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Science and Math Education. His passion lies in Chemistry and Science Education, with a focus on empowering underrepresented students in STEM. Ernesto collaborates with Anthony Garcia on multiple projects within the Berkeley Undergraduate Research Evaluations (BURET) project. His goal is to improve accessibility, engagement, and success for students in STEM. Outside of academics, Ernesto enjoys nurturing plants, exploring new restaurants, relaxing at beaches, and indulging in horror books and movies. 

Xing is a Bay Area native studying Chemistry at UC Berkeley. He heard about the Baranger group in Spring 2023 after having Anthony Garcia as his GSI and joined the summer afterwards. He has enjoyed investigating the outcomes of undergraduate research experience at UC Berkeley with the BURET team and hopes it will help prepare him for if he ever has a mentee. In his free time he enjoys watching comedies, playing video games, and playing sports such as ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and quadball (quidditch).  

Patricia is a second-year undergraduate from Riverside, CA, pursuing a B.S. in chemistry. Joining the Baranger group in Spring 2025, she works on the Chemistry Undergraduate Brainstorming Session (CUBS) and undergraduate climate survey projects! When not in the lab, Patricia often draws and paints or can be found rock climbing

Kylie was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley, CA. She is a current first-year undergraduate studying chemistry and aspires to be a professor of chemistry. She joined the Baranger Group in February 2025 to work with the CUBs team to design, develop, and understand the undergraduate CoC climate survey. In her free time, Kylie enjoys exploring fashion, hiking, journaling, and trying new sweet treats.

Marianna is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley with a strong passion for chemistry and chemistry education. She participated in the Chem Avengers Research Group, where she worked with Dr. Michelle Douskey to assess the development of a new chemistry curriculum. This curriculum focused on fostering process skills in science and promoting a sense of belonging and self-efficacy among students. Marianna is deeply committed to understanding how students learn chemistry and aims to make chemistry education more engaging and accessible through research on effective teaching practices within the field.