SRA Planning Team 

The Planning Team will be facilitating the event and can answer all your SRA Questions. Staff are from the Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research (CIMR).  

Engagement Facilitators 

Current or Alumni of Research Programs. They will be at the event to answer your questions about SRA, their research experiences, their pathways, and their time in research programs/opportunities. 

Bios are at the bottom of the page. 

Many of the Engagement facilitators are alumni of our initial grant BUILD EXITO or EXITO DREAM, and EXITO Intro Year. These programs will end in June 2024 (or sooner) and are not accepting new Trainees. Many aspects of these programs (mentoring, seminars/workshops, research training, etc.) are also included in existing PSU and OHSU programs/opportunities. Learning about their stories can let you know what support you would like a program to have. Additionally, BUILD Trainees spent two years completing undergraduate research so you can learn about their research experiences. 

Claudia Orozco-Esquivel

Hello all, I am Claudia Orozco-Esquivel. I use she/they pronouns. I am a first-generation brown queer Latina completing my undergraduate degree in Social work with a double minor in Chicano Latino studies and child youth and family studies. I am interested in working with Hispanic and LatinX families through the means of empowerment, motivation, and connection of resources. My interest in research was sparked due to the high impact research can have on communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is my interest when it comes to research. I am finishing up my first year as an EXITO Intro Year Scholar but will soon begin my research with EXITO DREAM.

Xuan Dinh

I'm a BUILD EXITO Cohort 6 Scholar. I will be graduating this June with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and starting the Ph.D. program in Applied Psychology at PSU in the Fall. 

Heather Day-Melgar

Heather has a B.A. in psychology, and an M.S. in geography, with a research emphasis in urban climate change adaptations and solutions. She is a social scientist, and human-environment geographer, with a social work background. Heather has many years of experience in grassroots social justice activism and is also a voting member of the Portland utility board. Her professional strength lies in the space where social science, climate science, and radical action come together.

Cynthia Villanueva-Vargas

My name is Cynthia Villanueva-Vargas. I am a BUILD EXITO Alumni (Cohort 6) and have been in the program for three years. I am a first-generation college graduate class of 2023. I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. I have two years of research experience through BUILD EXITO in OHSU's pulmonary department researching pulmonary diseases such as COPD, and I have also done COVID-19 research for the CDC that has been published. I am happy to offer my help and wisdom! 

Mathern Glass

Mathern is a BUILD EXITO alumni, he studied California water politics in the Dr. Alida Cantor Lab. Mathern received his bachelor's in anthropology and psychology, he focuses on how people interact with and around food. He is passionate about accessibility to science by making the language more understandable.

Eric McCuiston

I am Eric McCuiston, I am a senior here at PSU and an EXITO scholar and alumni of the program. I am currently getting my (two) degrees one in public health education in clinical science and the other in biology with a chemistry minor. I have worked in two labs during my time at EXITO, first in the Reichow lab assisting in protein purification and microscopy, and also in the Podrabsky lab performing embryological experiments with a focus on microscopy as well. I hope to help others this time with their path as I am on the tail end of mine. 

Mira Bickford

Hey, my name is Mira Bickford. I am a cohort 7 Build EXITO scholar. I work in Dr. Andrew Rileys RLC at OHSU. Most of my research is done in Integrated Primary Care/Pediatric Psychology, with some work in Pediatric Neuropsychology. I am a first-generation college student, as well as a neurodivergent scholar. I am earning a BS in Psychology, and hope to pursue a PhD in Pediatric Psychology. When I'm not in school, or conducting research, I enjoy hanging with my kiddos(4 and 12), camping, traveling, and playing my guitar. As a single mama, first-gen student, and an individual with ADHD, I put a lot of emphasis on making space for non-traditional students in academic and research spaces. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be an EXITO scholar, and I can't wait to share that experience with others! 

Felicia Zhou

Felicia Zhou joined BUILD EXITO in 2017 as a Cohort 3 scholar and has graduated from PSU with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Public Health Studies. She is a second-year student in the Master of Public Health in Epidemiology program at OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. Her research interests include chronic disease epidemiology, data analysis, and working with underserved communities. In her free time, Felicia enjoys watching animations and shows.