Women of Color SITE LITE

Ju Hui Judy Han is Assistant Professor in Gender Studies at UCLA. She grew up in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of twelve, and has since lived in both southern and northern California as well as a decade in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. As a first-gen college student from a working class family, Han is committed to multilingual public scholarship and critical research and gladly mentors first-gen BIPOC students with immigrant and refugee backgrounds. A cultural geographer with expertise in religion, gender and sexuality, and the politics of social change, Han has published on topics such as religious homophobia, feminist and LGBTQ+ activism in Korea and the Korean diaspora, and protest cultures and solidarity movements. She teaches undergraduate courses on power, transnational feminist politics, and comics and graphic novels. Han loves cold weather and despises the scorching sun, yet you might find her out and about in early mornings or near sunset, jogging (or trying), cycling, or walking her dogs around various hiking trails in southern California.

Marilyn Martinez identifies as a low-income first-generation transfer student of color from Glendale, California. She is the proud daughter and sister of a Mexican immigrant family from Guerrero and Puebla Mexico. After high school, Marilyn didn’t apply to a single four-year university. Instead, she attended Pasadena City College, where she would graduate with three associates and administration honors. She would serve as an international peer mentor, a CCCP scholar, and internal vice president of Alpha Gamma Sigma. Then, she would transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a Regents Scholarship Recipient, where she would double major in Sociology and Chicana and Chicano Studies. She would go on to graduate with triple honors including Summa Cum Laude, Sociology Departmental Honors, and College Honors. During her time at UCLA, she would serve as a Bruin Ambassador for the admissions office, an AAP Academic Peer Counselor, an AAP research assistant, and the Regents Scholar Society Transfer Affirars Director. She would also conduct a year-long research project on undocumented garment workers in Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA Marilyn went on to accept a full-time position as the CCCP Program Coordinator for Pasadena City College. This upcoming fall, Marilyn will also be starting her Master of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs (PASA) at the University of Southern California (USC). She is excited to continue her passion for increasing admission and retention in higher education for historically underrepresented people. 

Melody Satele (she/her) is a recent graduate from the University of California-Los Angeles, with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and has served as a fierce advocate for her community and others during her tenure at UCLA. Melody’s family hails from the villages of Vailoatai, Tutuila and Faleasao, Manu’a in American Samoa. Born and raised on the traditional lands of the Yuhaviatam clan of Serrano people in San Bernardino, CA, Melody grew up with a strong understanding of the importance of education to her cultural identity as a Samoan woman. Mel is currently serving as the Environmental Justice Community Organizer for the SoCal Pacific Islander Community Response Team (SoCal PICRT), and as a Program Coordinator for UCLA’s Center for Community College Partnerships.