Alix Ziff

Political Science & International Relations,  University of Southern California, PhD Candidate, expected 2023

MA Political Science & International Relations, Stanford University, 2017

MA African Studies, Stanford University, 2017

BA Political Science & International Relations, University of California, San Diego, 2015

Email: aziff@usc.edu

Alix is a fifth year PhD candidate in POIR, CDIP Fellow in the CSU Doctoral Incentive Program, and Lecturer. She has an MA from Stanford University in African Studies, an MA in Political Science and International Relations from USC, and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from UCSD. Her academic interests are twofold, focusing substantively on international development development and pedagogically on the teaching and mentorship of students from underrepresented groups. At USC, she focuses on research and mentorship through her role as Director of the Security and Political Economy Lab (SPEC Lab). Outside of USC, she continues to teach Political Science, Global Studies, and International Development at minority serving institutions, including Orange Coast College, Occidental College, and California State University, Dominguez Hills. 

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Richard Marcus / California State University, Long Beach 

Research Interests:

International Development; Foreign Aid; Conflict; Sub-Saharan Africa; Foreign Policy; Democratization 

Dissertation:

The Subnational Determinants of Aid Allocation in Africa: Demand or Donor-Driven? 

Alfredo Trejo III

Department of Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 2022

BA in Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 2015

Email: alfredotrejoam@gmail.com

Alfredo Trejo III is a Ph.D. candidate at the UCLA Department of Political Science. His research focuses on the politics of development in Latin America, with a focus on Central America. Alfredo’s current research project examines the effects of public demonstrations on the trade agreement negotiation and ratification process in Latin America. His research interests began when he was a community college student at East Los Angeles College and was solidified though his BA in Political Science at UCLA and his MS in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to his research, Alfredo is committed in advancing access to higher education and increasing graduation rates of students from historically marginalized communities. Alfredo currently lives in Boyle Heights, where he makes his own sourdough bread and kombucha.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Steven Osuna / California State University, Long Beach

Research Interests:

International Political Economy; Politics of Development; Social Mobilization; Migration; Latin American Politics; Central American Studies

Dissertation:

The Contentious Politics of Trade: Public Demonstrations and their Impact on the Trade Agreement Process in Latin America

Amy L. Casselman-Hontalas

Department of Sociology, Stanford University, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA Sociology, Stanford University, 2019

MA Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University, 2011

BA American Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2006

Email: amycasselman@gmail.com

Amy L. Casselman-Hontalas is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at Stanford University. Her work uses archival and contemporary data to examine the intersection of race, gender and class in American law. Of particular interest are the discursive strategies used by political elites as they lobby for and against legislation which disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Amy is the author of the 2016 book Injustice in Indian Country: Jurisdiction, American Law, and Sexual Violence Against Native Women, which argues that historical anti-Indian political discourse facilitates contemporary violence against Native women. Amy has been a university lecturer in Ethnic Studies and Gender Studies for more than a decade and holds degrees from Stanford University, San Francisco State University, and the University of California Santa Cruz. Prior to her career in academia, Amy was a caseworker for the Washoe Tribe where she provided support services for Native children and families. 

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Betsy Eudey / California State University, Stanislaus 

Research Interests:

Race and ethnicity; Gender; Class; Law and policy; Intersectional theory; Colonization and indigeneity

Dissertation:

A Sociological History of Race, Gender, and Class in American Health Care Policy 

Anthony Bencomo

Politics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Mexican American Studies, San José State University, 2016

BA in Sociology and Chicano Studies, California State University, Fresno, 2014

Email: abencomo@ucsc.edu

Anthony Bencomo is a PhD Candidate in the Politics Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has a designated emphasis in Latin American and Latino Studies. Anthony is a proud product of the CSU system, having earned an undergraduate degree at California State University, Fresno, and a graduate degree at San Jose State University. He is also a proud transfer student, as he began his educational journey in community college. Anthony has taught classes in Ethnic Studies, Legal Studies, and Politics. His research examines local politics, specifically focusing on police, street gangs, and the carceral state. His dissertation focuses on local attempts at police reform in a majority-minority city. For his research, Anthony utilizes various qualitative methods, including interviews, observations, and document analysis.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Julia Curry-Rodriguez / San José State University

Research Interests:

Policing; Latinx Politics; Violence and Masculinity; Legal Estrangement; School to Prison Pipeline; Gangs

Dissertation:

The Challenges of Institutional Police Reform: Racial/Ethnic Coalitions and Accountability

Cinthia Marlene Campos-Hernandez

Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA Anthropology, California State University, Los Angeles, 2018

BA Anthropology, California State University, Monterey Bay, 2013

Email: ccampos5@binghamton.edu;  cmcampos13@outlook.com 

Cinthia is an anthropological archaeologist, a paleoethnobotanist, and a speleologist. Cinthia’s work focuses on the cultures of ancient West Mexico, Mesoamerica, and the U.S. Southwest / Northwest Mexico. As a descendant of generations of farmers in Michoacán, Campos has a profound interest in ancient and contemporary foodways, environmental sustainability, landscape, and ideology. Cinthia has experience with collaborative Indigenous community projects, creating education programs, and curating archaeological and ethnobotanical exhibits. For her dissertation, she analyzed the macrobotanical remains recovered from three Trincheras Tradition sites in Atil, Sonora to identify and understand shifts in cultural practices, and the complex relationships between ecological factors, economics, and social organization. Since 2020, Campos has continuously taught Cave Archaeology and Paleoethnobotanical Methods and Theory in Spanish at several Mexican universities.  

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. BrieAnna Langlie / California State University, Los Angeles 

Research Interests:

Collaborative Indigenous Archaeology; Landscape Archaeology; Environmental and Ecological Anthropology; Ethnobotany; Ancient Foodways and Agriculture 

Dissertation:

A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis of the Trincheras Tradition: Community, Identity, and Foodways

Daniel Rodriguez Ramirez

Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Psychology (Counseling Psychology concentration), Springfield College, Massachusetts, 2016

BA in Psychology, Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, Arequipa, Peru, 2012

Email: drodri37@ucsc.edu

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/daniel-rodriguez-ramirez

Daniel Rodriguez Ramirez is currently a PhD candidate in Social Psychology at UC Santa Cruz, studying the psychological processes of transformative change. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods in often community-engaged and participatory ways, Daniel's work centers understanding the psychological processes that enable people to come together and drive transformative change within their communities and beyond. Daniel has been the instructor of record for Community Psychology and Qualitative Research Methods. He has also been a teaching assistant for Social Psychology of Gender, Introduction to Psychology, and Research Methods in Psychology. Daniel enjoys collaborating with undergraduate and high school students in research projects so they learn tools to uplift their communities as they pursue their career goals.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Danielle Kohfeldt / California State University, Long Beach

Research Interests:

Psychological Processes of Transformative Change; Psychology of Activism; Psychology of Immigration; Community-initiated Student-engaged and Participatory Action Research

Dissertation:

Enacting Change: Learning from Activists' Transformative Change Visions, Processes, and Actions

Elizabeth Bogumil

Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2023

MA Sociology, California State University, Northridge, 2015

BA Cinema Television Arts: Media Management, California State University, Northridge, 2008

Email:  elizabeth.bogumil@email.ucr.edu

Website:  https://elizabethbogumil.squarespace.com; https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/ebogu001 

Elizabeth Bogumil is a PhD candidate at UC Riverside and a CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program scholar. Her research explores health, well-being, and access to resources as they are shaped by social, built, and natural environments. Her dissertation, Mutual Aid & Social Support in the Time of COVID-19: An (Anti) Organizational Ethnography, weaves together discussions about neighborhood-based resource networks, organizational resource networks/ecologies, and organizational change by exploring how informal organizations serve as social support networks in times of crisis and disaster. 

Elizabeth publishes on topics related to cities and the urban environment, non-profits, pedagogy, reflexivity, and qualitative research methods. She has worked in program evaluation, in student equity, as a consultant for California's Master Plan for Aging. She earned UC Riverside’s University Teaching Certificate, developing a pedagogy focusing on students building sociology tool kits.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Moshoula Capous-Desyllas / California State University, Northridge

Research Interests:

Qualitative Research Methods, Resource Networks, Social Capital, Community Organizations, Policy, Program/Project Evaluation

Dissertation:

Mutual Aid & Social Support in the Time of COVID-19: An (Anti) Organizational Ethnography 

Emanuel Preciado

Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy, University of California, Irvine, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Urban and Regional Planning, University of California, Irvine, 2017

BA in Liberal Studies, California State University San Marcos, 2013

Email: preciade@uci.edu

Emanuel Preciado is a scholar-activist and urban ethnographer who has been actively engaged with BIPOC and immigrant food movements in Santa Ana and the greater Southern California region since 2016. His research seeks to understand how community organizations establish alternative political and economic infrastructure to meet community needs. His research is deeply involved with frontline communities and grassroots organizations, actively collaborating in the development of sustainable community food systems to combat spatial inequalities. Demonstrating a strong commitment to community-based research, he prioritizes showcasing ethical university-community partnerships throughout his scholarship. By contributing to the advancement of equitable and resilient communities, he strives to make a meaningful impact through his research, pedagogy, and mentorship.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Erualdo Gonzalez / California State University, Fullerton

Research Interests:

Urban Politics; Social Movements; Race, Class, and Urban Agriculture; Organizations; Qualitative methods; Community-based research

Dissertation:

Seeds of Resistance: Combating Spatial Inequality with Urban Farming in Santa Ana 

Gustavo A. Martir Luna

Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Psychological Sciences, California State University, Chico, 2020

BA in Psychology with Honors, California State University, Chico, 2017

Email: gamartir@g.ucla.edu

Gustavo is a third-year graduate student in the Social Psychology PhD Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He works out of the Race, Ethnicity, Politics, and Society Lab and the Intergroup Relations Lab. Gustavo has conducted research investigating the interplay between political ideology, moral foundations, and media effects on environmental attitudes, as well as the role emotions play in mobilizing communities of color to rally for environmental justice. Gustavo’s most recent research investigates the influence of gendered language and information processing on support for gender-based policies, particularly among bilingual Latinos. Gustavo is currently researching the role that gendered language plays in social perceptions of androgenous faces and also how identity prioritization among Latino and Asian Americans influences their allegiance to a political party.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Marie Lippmann / California State University, Chico

Research Interests:

Attitudes and Attitude Change; Information Processing; Latino Politics, Bilingualism and Executive Functioning; Media Effects, Intergroup Relations

Dissertation:

On the Role of Bilingualism and Executive Functioning in Latino Politics

Jordan Grasso

Department Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Sociological Practice, California State University San Marcos, 2017

BA in Criminology and Justice Studies, California State University San Marcos, 2014

Email: grassoj@uci.edu

Jordan Grasso (they/them) is a doctoral candidate in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California Irvine (UCI). Their research draws on interdisciplinary literatures (queer theory, policing, power, utopian studies, socio-legal studies, and geography) to explore alternative safety practices that function without the police in queer and lesbian bars and events. They have taught at a variety of institutions, including within community colleges and the CSU and UC university systems. Jordan has extensive pedagogical training as a former SDICCCA intern and current CSU CDIP Fellow and UCI Pedagogical Fellow.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Richelle Swan / California State University San Marcos

Research Interests:

Criminology; Policing Studies; Gender and Sexuality; Feminist and Queer Theory; Pedagogy

Dissertation:

Queering Law and Safety: Opportunities for Transformation and Change in Queer and Lesbian Spaces

Juan R. Sandoval

Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Criminal Justice, Rutgers University-Newark, 2017

BA in Criminology, University of New Mexico, 2014

Email: jrsando1@uci.edu

Website: https://sites.uci.edu/juansandoval/

Juan R. Sandoval is a sociologist, first-generation college student, and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California, Irvine. On track to complete his dissertation by June 2024, Juan is on the job market to begin an academic position in 2024.

His intellectual pursuits center around a comprehensive exploration of the criminal legal system, focusing on the intricate dynamics of criminalization and the sociology of stigma. In his work, he aims to unravel the profound consequences arising from the interplay between stigma and criminal legal encounters, ultimately shedding light on their impact on social existence.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Xuan Santos / California State University San Marcos

Research Interests:

Probation and Parole; Collateral Consequences; Law & Technology; Sociology of Stigma; Rural Sociology

Dissertation:

Outcast Spaces: Exploring Stigma, Identity, and Reintegration in the Southwest

Marilyn Ee

Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Sociology, California State University, Northridge, 2017

BA in Art, California State University, Northridge, 2012

Email: mye007@shsu.edu

Marilyn Ee is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). Her research agenda fits within one or more of the following areas of interest: evidence-based policing, crime analysis and prevention, policy evaluation, macro-level correlates of crime, and simulation technology in policing. She enjoys engaging in action-oriented, collaborative research with community partners to produce research and practices that positively impact communities. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring students. She takes a student-oriented approach, focusing on innovative pedagogical methods, inclusive classrooms, and engaging activities to enhance student learning experiences. She strives to help students build critical thinking, problem-solving, and other practical skills to maximize their success in academia and their careers.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Vickie Jensen / California State University, Northridge

Research Interests:

Evidence-based policing; Crime analysis & prevention; Policy evaluation; Macro-level correlates of crime; Simulation technology in policing & crime prevention

Dissertation:

California: A Decade of Decarceration

Michael Vallerga

Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Experimental Psychology, San José State University, 2010

BA in Psychology, San José State University, 2007

Email: mvallerg@ucsc.edu

Michael Vallerga is a social psychology PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He earned his MA in experimental psychology at San Jose State University in 2010. His research focuses upon authoritarianism, masculinity, conspiracy belief, and how they are related.  His research includes qualitative examinations of gender beliefs of the manosphere, political psychological inquiries into authoritarianism in the 2016 presidential campaign, and attempting to predict far-right extremism and conspiracy belief from beliefs around masculinity (his dissertation). As a TA and Graduate Student Instructor at University of California, Santa Cruz, he has broad teaching experience in the Psychology department and other humanities and social sciences. As a lecturer in the Justice Studies Department at San Jose State University, he teaches courses about statistics, research methods, and sex and gender.  His dissertation in progress is expected to be completed in 2024.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. James Lee / San José State University

Research Interests:

Political Psychology; Masculinity; Authoritarianism; Conspiracy Belief

Dissertation:

Backlash to Shifting Power:  Traditional Masculinity, Conspiracy Belief, and Far-Right Beliefs and Actions

Serena Zadoorian

Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, PhD Candidate, expected 2024

MA in Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles, 2019

BA in Psychology, University of California, Irvine, 2017

Email: drodri37@ucsc.edu

Serena Zadoorian is a fifth-year graduate student emphasizing  Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience at UC Riverside. Throughout her graduate studies, Serena has dedicated her efforts to research projects centered around the study of multisensory talker and speech recognition. Currently, she is in the process of establishing a validated self-assessment questionnaire for visual speech skills. Her dissertation work will be focused on the development of a questionnaire with potential applications in clinical settings. Alongside her research endeavors, Serena has played a significant role in mentoring undergraduate students, assisting them in achieving various awards and grants. Additionally, she has served as an Associate Instructor, teaching an upper division course in Perception and Sensation.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Joel Ellwanger / California State University, Los Angeles 

Research Interests:

Multisensory Training; Validating Visual Speech Skills; Speech and Talker Perception  

Dissertation:

Enacting Change: Learning from Activists' Transformative Change Visions, Processes, and Actions

Uriel Serrano, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar 2022-present, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

PhD Department of Sociology and Department of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2022

MA in Sociology, California State University, Los Angeles, 2016

BA in Sociology, California State University, Los Angeles, 2012

Email: userrano@uci.edu

Website: https://urielserrano.com

Uriel Serrano is an educator, youth worker, and sociologist of inequality and resistance from South Central Los Angeles. He is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Community Organizing and Social Computing in the Department of Informatics at UC Irvine. Focusing on Black and Latinx youth, his current research project theorizes the scale and pacing of policing and criminalization, its consequential nature, and youth resistance against it in Los Angeles County. The Ford Dissertation Fellowship, the University of California President’s Dissertation Fellowship, the American Sociological Association Minority Fellows Program, the Social Science Research Council, and the California State University Chancellor’s Dissertation Fellowship have supported his work. He has published solo and co-authored writing in various venues, including academic journals, edited books, reports, and online publications. He brings over five years of teaching experience. 

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Joanna Perez / California State University, Dominguez Hills

Research Interests:

Youth Studies; Race, Class, and Gender; Carceral Studies; Social Movements; Social Theory and Methods; Education

Dissertation:

Youth in the City of Inmates: Race, Gender, and Carceral Seepage

Veronica B. Salcedo

Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, PhD Candidate (ABD or All But Dissertation), expected 2024

MA in Sociology, Georgia State University, 2018

BA in History, College of William & Mary, 2002

Email: vsalcedo1@student.gsu.edu

Veronica B. Salcedo (she/siya) is a 5th year PhD candidate in Sociology at Georgia State University (GSU) whose research centers racialized, gendered, and classed experiences of cisgender Pinays, or cis women of partial or full Filipino descent, who are romantically attracted to other women.  She utilizes critical race feminism and Peminism/Pinayism to recognize sexually nonconforming (SNC) Pinay cultural contributions as rich sources of knowledge. In her dissertation, Veronica incorporates this knowledge with qualitative data to better understand how SNC Pinays come to recognize their authentic selves and navigate systems of power impacting their family of origin and chosen family. Veronica earned her MA in Sociology at GSU, where she taught Introduction to Social Problems. She received the 2022 Jacqueline Boles Teaching Fellowship in Sociology at GSU and is a 2022-2023 CDIP Fellow. Veronica continues to be involved in her local community as an advocate and collaborator.

Faculty Mentor / Host Institution:

Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez / San Francisco State University

Research Interests:

Intersectionality; Gender and Sexuality; Race and Ethnicity; Critical Filipinx/a/o Studies; Sociology of Food; Community-Based Research for Social Justice

Dissertation:

Sexually Nonconforming Pinays’ Counternarratives:  (Re)claiming and Creating Space for Themselves, Family, and Community